I Love Being A Gilmore Girl
by Michelle285
Summary: Sequel! Lorelai, Luke, Rory, Jess and the twins engage in all kinds of escapades. I know you're curious as to what they are! Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters…except Emma and Aaron. I am not making money off of any of them…not even Emma and Aaron. Such a shame._

_ A/N: This is a sequel to my story _We Just Have That Effect On People_. You don't have to read that story first, but this would probably make a lot more sense if you do. It's a long one though, so I'll give a brief summary here, especially since I posted that one ages ago and you probably have forgotten what's happened. If you haven't read it I really think you should. But I might be biased, just a little. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one! _

Summary of _We Just Have That Effect On People_: Luke and Lorelai are now married. Rory calls Luke Dad because she believes Chris didn't earn that privilege. Things between Emily and Lorelai seem to be getting better. They have been on agreeable terms since the wedding and Lorelai has been going to Friday Night Dinner. Luke and Lorelai have two children, twins, Emma and Aaron, who are seven years old. They are both very smart and are obviously on their way to Chilton and Ivy League greatness. Emma is a Rory mini-me and loves to show people that she is smart. Emma also carries the Gilmore tradition of coffee, junk food and movie loving. Aaron is quieter and more like Luke. Aaron loves baseball and thinks junk food and coffee will kill the women members of his family and always reminds them of such. Rory and Jess got engaged and are going to be married soon. Jess is finishing up his last year at graduate school (finally) and is going to be an English teacher and write books on the side. Rory works at the Hartford Gazette and has put her foreign correspondence on hold for a while so she can be around while the twins grow up.

_A/N: Whew! I suppose that will do. Now on to this story! Enjoy! _

"Mom, that's hideous!" Rory cried. "Why in the world would I buy that?"

"I didn't tell you to buy it, I just told you to look at it," Lorelai told her daughter.

Emma laughed. "It's like Audrey Hepburn in _My Fair _Lady before the Professor."

"I think you're right," Rory agreed. "The dress is too far gone though, even for the professor. I still don't understand why you would show me that!"

"Take it as an example of what not to buy," Lorelai told her.

"You're not helping!" Rory cried. "You're supposed to be here helping me decide what to buy, not picking out the ugliest dress in the store! If you can't behave, I'm sending you out to the car to wait."

"But Mom, it's hot in the car," Lorelai whined in her best child voice.

Emma just laughed. She was used to this kind of display from her older sister and mother and she loved every minute of it.

"There is absolutely nothing here that I would even think about wearing for my wedding!" Rory sighed. "And there has been nothing in the past three shops we have gone to."

"Rory, you just ended that sentence with a prep…prop…" Emma struggled, trying to remember the correct pronunciation of the word, having just learned it a few weeks ago.

"Preposition," Rory supplied.

"Right, that!" Emma said. "Anyway, it should have been to which we have gone…I think."

"No, you're right," Rory smiled and repeated after Emma, "To which we have gone." Rory should have known her sister would have corrected her. Emma was still in Stars Hollow Elementary as of now (Aaron and she had skipped a grade and were in 3rd right now), but was definitely the smartest in her class and Lorelai and Luke were looking into better schools in Hartford. They were also definitely going to get her into Chilton as soon as she was old enough and she wouldn't even have to endure a year or two of Stars Hollow High as Rory had.

"Why don't you look at flower girl dresses and bridesmaid dresses," Lorelai suggested. "We can come back to the wedding gown later."

"That sounds like a good idea," Rory agreed.

"Can we look for mine first?" Emma asked, jumping up and down with excitement.

"Settle down, you little jumping bean," Lorelai teased. She looked at Rory for confirmation and then said, "Yes, babe, we'll look for yours first."

"Yay!" Emma cheered.

Emma's dress was perfect and they all loved it. It was white and had a light blue sash around the middle. The sleeves didn't cover her arms but were four fingers thick on her shoulder. The part of the dress that was above the sash was beaded. The skirt, which was below the sash, had many layers and lightly brushed the ground. The dress even came with a small silver tiara. It was truly a beautiful dress and as soon as Lorelai saw it she knew they were going to buy it. When Rory saw it on Emma there was no argument.

Rory had decided to let her bridesmaids pick the style of the dress they were going to wear. Paris, her bridesmaid, had wanted strapless, but didn't want it in a sweetheart cut. She said those were much too revealing and she was not for sale! Lane, Rory's matron of honor, preferred her dress have spaghetti straps, because the dress wouldn't cut off her circulation and she wouldn't have to worry about it falling down all night. Lorelai, Rory's other matron of honor, wanted a halter. She said Luke liked her better in halters anyway…and Rory had stopped that conversation right away! Rory had decided the bridesmaids would wear a light pink color that would match the flowers.

Rory decided to have the wedding in a church. It wasn't that she was religious or anything, she just really couldn't think of a better place. While she liked the idea of a wedding outside, she couldn't really think of a good place to have it. She didn't want to have it in the town square (she could only imagine how much Jess would hate that) and the Dragonfly was going to be closed that weekend so the reception could be in the backyard. Emily, who was helping with the planning during this wedding, had gone on and on about the wonderful venues in Hartford, including the one where Richard and she had renewed their vows, and while Rory couldn't deny those places were lovely, they were just so fancy and not at all Rory's cup of tea. They were pretty pricey too and Rory decided she would rather have her wedding in Stars Hollow, where she had grown up and where everyone she knew and loved, besides her grandparents, lived. After all, most of her guests were Stars Hollow residents anyway and she didn't want to make them drive to Hartford just to drive back for the reception, because she was having her reception in the backyard of the Dragonfly no matter where she got married.

They were back on the search for a wedding gown and were having absolutely no luck. Rory saw nothing that shouted out to her and she didn't seem to like anything that whispered her name.

"Mom," Rory groaned. "There's nothing here! There's nothing anywhere!"

Lorelai laughed. "Don't get so dramatic, child of mine. We will find something."

"Mommy, where did you find your wedding dress?" Emma asked.

"Here," Lorelai answered. Lorelai then began to wonder how Rory would feel if Lorelai made her wedding gown. Lorelai had planned to do so with hers until they came to this shop but Rory hadn't found anything here. Rory had liked it when Lorelai made her dress for the dance all those years ago, but that was the problem, that was all those years ago.

"Mom," Rory began. "How would you feel if I asked you to think about maybe making my wedding dress?"

Lorelai smiled. "I was thinking the same thing! Oh my gosh! We have ESP!"

"I highly doubt that," Rory said. "But you'll make patterns or something? And if I like them, you'll make my gown?"

"Yes and yes," Lorelai replied.

"Yay!" Emma cheered.

"What are you yaying about?" Rory asked.

Emma shrugged. "I felt like it. After all, we're leaving aren't we?"

"We are," Lorelai agreed.

"And that means we get to go eat lunch!" Emma cried. "Let's go to Daddy's. Daddy has the best coffee ever…he can't resist the pout and the eyes. Gosh, I'm starving!"

"You ate before we left," Lorelai reminded her youngest daughter.

"But that was a whole hour ago!" Emma said.

Rory laughed. "You are such a Gilmore girl. It's fantastic!"

_I hope you liked the first chapter. It will get more interesting as it goes on, I promise! Let me know what you think about this so I will know whether I should continue or not. Please review and thanks for reading. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. Aaron and Emma are mine though! _

_ A/N: Thanks for your reviews and alerts on the last chapter. I realize these chapters are kind of boring right now, but hopefully the plot will thicken a bit as the story continues. Enjoy! _

Upon arriving at _Luke's_, they met up with Aaron and Jess who were on the hunt for tuxedoes, regardless of how much they hated to wear them. Luke was unable to go since he had to man the diner, it was Friday and Lane was off, but Luke instructed Jess to get the least expensive and the most comfortable, if that was possible.

When the group walked in and sat down at a table Luke walked over to them. "How did everything go?"

"Successful on our part," Jess answered. "You are going to hate the tuxes though. I swear, there was nothing even remotely comfortable in there. You'd think they'd make it a little easier."

"At least you got yours!" Rory argued. "I didn't even find a wedding gown yet. So shut up!" Rory didn't mention she was probably going to have her mom make her one. She knew Jess and he would probably try to sneak a peek at it so he wouldn't "make a fool out of himself at the wedding." She had already told him that he wasn't allowed to see it before the wedding, but she knew that didn't mean he wouldn't try.

"We found a dress for me though," Emma sang out in true Gilmore fashion. "And it is perfect!"

"And the bridesmaid dresses are taken care of too," Lorelai interjected. She looked at Luke and raised her eyebrows. "And mine is going to be a halter."

"Jeez," Luke sighed. "Do you have to do that now? There are kids present. Our kids. What do you want to eat?" When Luke saw Lorelai's look he quickly added, "Food wise?"

"That didn't help," Rory piped up. "There are so many ways she could make that into a dirty."

"A dirty?" Emma asked curious as to what her older sister was referring. She was sure it was something she was going to love.

"Trust me, midget," Jess interjected. "You don't want to know."

"Yes I do!" Emma contradicted.

Luke expressed Jess' sentiments as well. "No."

"Aw, come on, Dad," Rory wheedled. "She's a Gilmore. All true Gilmore's have to know what a dirty is and when and how to use it!"

"She's technically a Danes. And she's seven," Luke reminded Rory.

"Disregard her last name and she's a Gilmore. Besides, I learned when I was like two!" Rory told Luke.

"Aw, jeez," Luke sighed.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "We'll tell you later, babe."

"Why do I even bother?" Luke wondered. "Did you all come in here just to harass me or do you want some food? If you did want food, you'd better order in the next ten seconds, because I do actually have other paying customers."

"Hmmm," Lorelai thought. "I want a cheeseburger, and don't you even try to stick anything healthy on it, onion rings, chili cheese fries and, of course, coffee."

"Me too," Rory agreed.

"Emma, please," Luke pleaded. "Get something healthy, like a salad. You don't need to turn out like these two."

Emma looked at her dad. "Mommy and Rory are fine! Give me the same. Who wants a salad? Salads are for rabbits. Don't put lettuce on the burger…I'm not eating it if I taste any lettuce essence!"

Luke sighed while Lorelai and Rory cheered for Emma. She was becoming more and more like a Gilmore every day. Luke didn't like the eating habits, but he had fallen in love with a Gilmore, and he still loved those Gilmore Girls.

"You're going to get sick," Aaron told his sister. "And I will be laughing my ass off."

"Aaron!" Lorelai and Luke both exclaimed chastising him for his language. "Where did you learn to talk like that?" Aaron's eyes widened and he shrugged. Rory, being the observant reporter that she was noticed Jess' cheeks were becoming a light shade of red. She was going to have to have a talk with him later about teaching those kinds of things to her younger siblings.

"Sorry," Aaron apologized. "And I'll have a salad and some water."

"So will I," Jess said, adding his order to the rest.

Luke sighed as he walked away. "Someday I'll get you three to eat healthy, even if it kills me."

"I doubt it," Lorelai sing-songed back at him. She smiled. "That is so fun!"

Rory shook her head at the male members sitting at the table. "You'd think you all could live it up a little. We are going to eat at Grandma's tonight. You'll get your fill of healthy food there."

Aaron wrinkled his nose. He didn't particularly enjoy going to the Gilmore's. They expected him to be more like Emma and Rory. While he still got all A's and was smart, he didn't like to show it off. He never joined in on the conversation because he never felt like what he was going to say was acceptable. He was also interested in many sports, except golf, and that was the only one Richard was able to speak of with any authority. "Do we have to go?"

"Of course we do, Aaron," Lorelai told him. "It's Friday night. When you get a little older you can start begging off, but not yet." Lorelai knew her son hated these dinners, but there was nothing she could do about it. On the Friday's she wasn't able to go, she had tried to get Aaron out of it too, but Emily never relented. She felt bad for him. Maybe when he could drive she would teach him some of her old tricks (if they were still going to the Gilmore's by then). She was sure that old bedroom window of hers would love to have someone climb out of it again.

"Besides, Gram and Gramps love seeing you," Emma said.

Aaron rolled his eyes. It was possible he hated Friday Night Dinner more than Lorelai ever did. He was like Luke in every way and he hated their house. They may be his grandparents, but he hated dressing up for dinner and sitting there all prim and proper being seen but not heard. He couldn't wait until he could beg off.

Jess leaned down and whispered in his ear, "I'm with you, midget." Aaron smiled, knowing at least he had one ally who had to go to dinner too. Jess wasn't allowed to beg off until after the wedding, and even then he wouldn't really have a good excuse. He needed to look good in front of the Gilmore's now though; he was marrying their granddaughter after all, and he was more worried about getting their approval than anything.

Luke walked back over to the table with their food. He set it down in front of them and shook his head at the females. "You are going to get sick." He then turned to Lorelai. "I was thinking, maybe I shouldn't wear a tux. After all, it will be one less thing to pay for and…"

"No!" Rory exclaimed. "You can't walk me down the aisle if you aren't wearing a tux."

"I can't…" Luke paused. Rory hadn't mentioned this to him yet. "I'm walking you…but Rory…what about Christopher?"

Rory rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You are my dad. Chris has never done anything to deserve that title and I don't want my father walking me down the aisle, I want my dad to do it."

"But Rory…" Luke tried again.

Rory was having none of it though. "On my sixteenth birthday I decided I wasn't going to allow Christopher to walk me down the aisle when I got married, because this was just another birthday he had missed. You had set up a whole table for me, with balloons and a coffee cake and everything! At my high school graduation, when I looked out into the audience and saw you sitting there I decided that one day I would ask you to walk me down the aisle. Christopher wasn't even at my high school graduation. Even if you and Mom hadn't gotten married, I still would've asked you." Rory shrugged. "If you don't want to do it, that's fine and I'll just come down the aisle by myself. But I would really appreciate it if you would. Oh, and dance the father daughter dance with me. I know you dance, don't even try and tell me you don't. You danced with me at your wedding."

Luke smiled at this girl whom he had come to love over the years. He loved hearing her call him dad and he loved knowing that he had done everything in his power to fill that role, from the time he met her until now. He was only protesting because this was her wedding day and he didn't want her to have any regrets. This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. "I would be honored, Rory. But if you change your mind, don't hesitate to tell me."

Rory grinned and got up out of her seat. "I won't change my mind." She hugged Luke. "Thank you, Dad. I love you."

"I know," Luke sighed. He also rolled his eyes, but everyone at the table could tell he wasn't mad. The 'I know' was something Rory started years ago and when Luke finally said it back to her one day (and saw her extremely happy reaction) he hadn't stopped. "I love you."

Rory's smile got even wider. "I know."

"I'm really glad you said yes," Jess spoke up. "If you didn't, I would've had to kill you, Uncle Luke."

"I have warned you about calling me that," Luke reminded his nephew. "Although I don't know why I thought that would stop you."

"Rory, your food is getting cold," Emma reminded her sister.

"Speaking of," Lorelai said. "More coffee, Luke?"

Luke rolled his eyes but went to get the coffee pot. He long ago learned that saying no to those girls when it came to coffee only resulted in them becoming more annoying and pestering him until they got what he wanted.

As he walked away, Aaron sighed. "You aren't going to live past forty."

The female members of his family, especially Lorelai and Rory, began to laugh. If Luke wasn't going to lecture them it looked like Aaron was.

_Let me know what you thought please? The whole story is written but if there's anything you would really like to see let me know and I'll try to stick it in somewhere! Please review and thanks for reading! _


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I still don't own these characters. _

_A/N: I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while. I kind of forgot about this story what with moving back into college and such. Hopefully the plot is thickening somewhat. Enjoy! _

Friday Night Dinner was going smoothly. Since Lorelai's wedding things between Lorelai and Emily had become quite pleasant. The past still haunted both of them from time to time but it had gotten much better. Emily had learned not to question her daughter's life choices and keep it to herself when she thought her daughter was making wrong decisions. Well, keep most of it to herself. When she didn't, Lorelai had to remember that Emily was only doing what she thought was right and Emily only wanted the best (or what she thought was the best) for Lorelai anyway.

Richard's relationship with Lorelai had always been a bit smoother than Emily's had been and there were no real problems there. Richard was also trying his best to get to know his grandson, Aaron, even though that was hard sometimes. He had also accepted Luke and Jess as part of the family and while he knew he wouldn't be begging them to join the club with him any time soon, he was forging a good and lasting relationship.

During dessert, Rory told her grandmother that she had a save the date card for her in the mail.

"I already know what day you're getting married," Emily scoffed. "I'm helping with the planning."

"Actually," Rory said. "We have changed the date."

"You can't do that!" Emily exclaimed, astounded that her granddaughter would even think such a thing.

"Yes, I can," Rory argued. "The church is in Stars Hollow and we can get married pretty much any day and time, the reverend doesn't care! And the reception is in the backyard of the Dragonfly, so that can be whenever."

"Well, when are you getting married?" Emily asked.

"Why don't you just wait until you get the card in the mail," Lorelai told Emily. Rory had moved the date up because of some training Jess wanted to attend before his first semester as a Yale teacher and they both decided they would like to be married and go on their honeymoon before. Lorelai also knew that Emily wouldn't be happy about such a change and figured she would say something that didn't need to be said at such a pleasant dinner.

"I need to know now so I can check our schedule and make sure I can cancel any arrangements, isn't that right, Richard," Emily said, trying to get her husband as an ally.

"Hmm," Richard asked, looking up at her. He actually hadn't heard a word of the conversation, having been engaged in a deep discussion about the merits of different authors with Jess and even having Aaron chime in from time to time. Seeing the look on his wife's face, Richard quickly agreed. "Of course, dear."

"If you have something on your schedule you can change it," Lorelai told her mother, desperately hoping her mother would leave it at that while knowing she wouldn't. She could just hear what her mother would have to say when Rory told her they were moving the date up.

Lorelai looked at her father who was now looking at her. She used her eyes to plead with him to getting Emily to stop. Richard may not have been the best father for all of Lorelai's years, but she was still his baby girl and he loved her and his granddaughter more than anything. Although he didn't know exactly what was going on he knew that if Lorelai was pleading with him it must be serious. He added his own plea. "Emily, I'm sure it's not that big of a deal. Lorelai is right. If we have something on the date we can just change it."

"No!" Emily continued to argue. "If we cancel or change something it is best that we do it as soon as possible. We might be considered rude if we don't and…"

Rory couldn't take it anymore. She knew the response this was likely to get from her grandmother and she quickly sent Jess an apologetic look. She wasn't sure if he caught it or not but forged ahead. "Grandma, we moved the wedding up a few weeks. It is now at the beginning of June instead of at the beginning of July."

All the members of the table turned to stare at Rory. Aaron and Emma were staring because everyone else was. Jess was staring because he wasn't sure where else to look; he definitely wasn't going to look at Emily. Lorelai was staring because she couldn't believe Rory just told her grandmother that, having to know the reaction such a statement would trigger and Richard was staring because he also couldn't believe Rory would say that to her grandmother while sitting at the dinner table (he also knew this was about to be bad). Emily was also staring at Rory with disbelief in her features.

"That's not a few weeks, Rory!" Emily exclaimed. "That's a whole month. Why are you pushing it up so much. That means the wedding is now only a mere month away! Many people won't be able to make it to your wedding now. It is proper to send Save the Date cards out much earlier than this!"

"I know, but everyone who's coming is either in our family or lives in Stars Hollow! The people in Stars Hollow have been waiting for me to get married for a while and I don't think they'll miss this. People in our family can rearrange things so they can come. Jess wants to attend some training before he starts to teach at Yale and we thought it would be better to have our wedding and honeymoon over before he had to leave," Rory told her grandmother. Well, at least she was allowing an explanation.

"Huh," Emily said.

"Mom, please," Lorelai groaned, knowing that utterance, having heard it from Emily's mouth many times herself. That remark tinted with disbelief usually came after Lorelai had told Emily a lie. Emily followed the statement with a loud speech about how she knew Lorelai was lying and what she really thought was going on.

"Emily, dear, I don't think we need this right now," Richard told his wife, knowing what Lorelai did as well, but believing his granddaughter and not wanting to start an upset after such a pleasant evening.

Rory sighed. She knew that whatever was going to come out of Emily's mouth was not going to be good so she turned to Jess. "Jess, do you want to take Aaron and Emma into Grandpa's study and read a book or something?"

Rory had phrased it as a question, but Jess knew this was not up for debate. He knew Aaron and Emma would have a book to read (they followed Rory's rule of taking a book everywhere) and he knew Rory just wanted to get him out of the room. He appreciated it greatly.

Jess began to get up and motioned for the twins to follow him when Emily stopped him. "No." Emily commanded. "You sit down. Since the topic for discussion is your wedding, I think you should be here when we discuss it."

"Grandma," Rory begged. "Please."

"Jess, sit down!" Emily commanded again.

Lorelai, Richard and Rory looked at Jess resignedly and that was when he knew he had to stay and he was about to endure the wrath of one, Emily Gilmore.

Emily shooed Aaron and Emma out of the room, but before they could get all the way out Jess called to them, "Hey, midgets. Shut the door to your grandfather's study." At that, Rory couldn't help but smile. She loved how much he cared for her little siblings.

"What do you think they are going to talk about?" Emma whispered to Aaron as they were walking to the study.

"I don't know, but there is one sure way to find out," Aaron told her. "Shhh."

The twins walked over to the study door, looked at each other and shut the door loudly, but didn't go in the study. They could tell this conversation was going to be big, and there was no way they were going to be left out of the loop.

_What do you think they are going to talk about? As if you don't know. How will Emily feel? As if you don't know. If you read, please review…and hopefully I can get the next chapter up a bit faster. Thanks! _


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I don't own. _

_A/N: And now you will find out what Emily is so mad about. What will she say? What will she do? Enjoy! _

"So you moved your wedding up a whole month," Emily recapped. "And now the wedding is only one month away."

Rory nodded. She didn't want to say anything unless it was completely necessary and if she knew her grandmother she was sure it was going to be necessary very soon.

"I would believe your nicely little crafted story about the training for his teaching degree to teach at Yale if it wasn't for one tiny factor. Remember when your grandfather taught at Yale? He didn't have to go to training."

"That was because I was a replacement. It was offered as an option but I didn't want to go," Richard jumped in. "I was also teaching something I had experience in for years. The dean knew me and knew I would be a good man for the job."

"Jess has already written a book, small as it may have been," Emily said with a sneer. Normally writing a book would be a sign of prestige. Oh no, not with Emily Gilmore. "The dean also knows him. He has been in school for…how many years has it been now?"

Rory got ready to open her mouth, but Jess and Lorelai both shot her looks that were telling her to shut up. Jess knew it would look better if he defended himself, so he tried to do so. "With all due respect, Mrs. Gilmore, this is a little different. I have never taught a college class before in my life. This training will teach me how to do that. After I have learned how to effectively teach a class full of college students, I will feel much more confident about teaching a college class. Going to this training will help me provide for your granddaughter and a family that we may or may not make together."

"I knew it!" Emily shouted. "I knew you would take after your mother, Rory! I knew you would make a horrible mistake just like she did. He got you pregnant, didn't he?!"

Rory's mouth dropped open while Lorelai and Richard both cried, "Mom!" and, "Emily!" simultaneously. Jess was too shocked to say anything right now. Sure, they had sex, but they were always very careful. He knew that he wanted kids someday, strange as that seemed (Aaron and Emma were definitely rubbing off on him), but he would never want Rory to get pregnant unless they had discussed it at length and he knew she was ready for it.

In the hall, Aaron and Emma just looked at each other. They were a little bit confused about this conversation. They were only seven and smart as they were, they still didn't understand much about how babies were born yet. They looked at each other again and decided they didn't need to hear their family shouting about things they didn't understand. They went into the study, as quietly as they possibly could and began to read.

In the dining room, the shouting match had come to a standstill. Rory was looking down at her plate with Emily's words ringing through her head. _Horrible mistake, horrible mistake_. What that translated to was Rory being a mistake. Rory being something horrible that never should have happened. Rory knew this shouldn't affect her as much as it did. Still though, her grandmother's words, _horrible mistake_, wouldn't stop repeating in her head. She also knew this must have been what her grandmother really thought about her, because although she had tried to make her feel better after Strobe and Francine's awful visit so long ago; Emily had never fully denied that Rory was a mistake. Emily just fed her and told her not to worry about it. Emily never said, "_Rory, you were not a mistake_." At least not like her Lorelai had.

Lorelai was seething. Her mother had just called her lovely daughter, Lorelai's pride and joy, a mistake. Lorelai took one look at her daughter and knew this was affecting Rory monumentally. Lorelai wanted to smack her mother, but knew that would not be a smart idea, because Emily would probably just smack her right back. Lorelai looked over and Jess and knew that if she didn't get him out of here he probably would end up smacking Emily and that wouldn't turn out well for anyone concerned.

"Jess," Lorelai said, getting his attention. "Please go get Aaron and Emma and take them out to the car. We're leaving."

As soon as Jess left the dining room, Lorelai rounded on her mother. "What possessed you to call my lovely daughter a mistake? I've been sad because of things that you've done and I've been mad because of things you've done, but I've never outright hated you before. At this moment, I do. Rory was _not_ a mistake, no matter what you think. If you were to ask me which part of my life I would wish to relive, my first 16 years or hers, I would pick hers in a heartbeat. Her first sixteen years were the best of my life. She was the bright spot in my world for a very long time and I don't know what I would have done without her; I still don't know what I would do without her. I just…can't believe you. Goodbye, Mother." Lorelai got out of her seat and walked around to Rory's side of the table. She gently tugged on her daughter's arm and pulled her up out of the seat. Emily was shocked to see tears running down her granddaughter's face.

Emily heard the front door slam and she looked to Richard for support. He had a grave look on his face. He connected his eyes with hers and just shook his head slowly. He, too, was appalled at the words his wife had spoken. While he may not have spent as much time with Rory as he would have liked, she was definitely the light of his life and he cherished time they got to spend together.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Emily rushed to explain, hoping to get an ally in this situation. In all honestly, she really hadn't meant _Rory_ was the mistake, she meant Lorelai's decision to have sex with Christopher was the mistake. She too, loved Rory and wouldn't intentionally hurt her. She just spoke without thinking about the effect her words might have.

Richard looked at her solemnly. "It doesn't matter how you meant it. What matters is how you said it and how she heard it. And right now, I'm with Lorelai." With that Richard got up out of his seat at the head of the table, walked into his study and closed the door. He knew this would project the message that he didn't want to see her right now and he didn't. While he might not go as far to say he _hated_ his wife, he certainly didn't like her at this moment and he wasn't sure what would have to happen before he did again.

Emily stared at the door to Richard's study and shifted her gaze toward the entry hall where her daughter and granddaughter had left. She knew the "goodbye" that Lorelai uttered meant goodbye and they wouldn't be coming back for a while. She shook her head. How did she manage to get in all these messes with the female members of her family? And more importantly, how was she going to fix this one.

_Do you think Emily will fix it? Do you think Emily can fix it? Come on friends, I only got one review for the last chapter…can I get more for this one? Please review and thanks for reading! _


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I do not own. _

_A/N: Here's a nice long chapter for you. I suppose you deserve it since I've been neglecting this story for a while. I had kind of forgotten about it, so hopefully you remember what has been going on! Enjoy! _

The car ride home had, so far, been silent. Lorelai was driving and Rory was sitting in the front passenger seat. Jess, Aaron and Emma were in the back of the minivan. Lorelai had finally broken down and got one when Aaron and Emma were born. She still had her old friend, the Jeep, but she didn't drive it as much anymore, since Aaron and Emma were pretty much always with her. Normally Rory and Jess took the Prius to Friday Night Dinner, but tonight they had all decided to ride together. Lorelai was grateful for that, because this way she could watch Rory and try to gage her feelings. At least, Lorelai _was_ grateful they had all ridden together, until her son, with as much tact as Luke had (which wasn't much), opened his mouth.

"Mommy…does this mean we don't have to go to Friday Night Dinners anymore?" Aaron asked. "Ow!" He then yelped. "Emma, that hurt!" Emma had just elbowed him in the ribs.

"Aaron," Rory said as all eyes snapped to her. This was the first time she had spoken since they had left the Gilmore's house. "You never fail to make me smile. No, we don't have to go to Friday Night Dinners."

"For a while at least," Jess whispered to Aaron. "You might actually be old enough to beg off before we have to go back."

Aaron's eyes lit up. This was what he had wished for since they had started going.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I think a stop at Luke's and a great big cup of coffee is in order!" Lorelai said, to get off the subject of Friday Night Dinner for a while.

"Mom, I'm just…super tired," Rory said and Lorelai immediately nodded.

"We'll take you home," Lorelai agreed without preamble.

"You should still go though," Rory said. "Jess, you should go too."

"When have I ever wanted a cup of coffee?" Jess asked Rory. "Besides, being in there at night reminds me too much about working there."

Rory rolled her eyes. She knew he loved going into Luke's regardless of what he might say. He just had to complain to keep up his image, just like Luke had to be grumpy all the time and couldn't be known as a softy.

Emma, on the other hand, called Jess out. "You're such a liar! You love it."

Emma and Jess continued to bicker with each other and Aaron even jumped in a few times in the course of the argument. Rory shook her head and looked at her mom. "He's such a kid."

Lorelai's ears were attuned to the bickering in the backseat as well and her lips curled into a small smile. "It's nice, isn't it."

-%

After Lorelai dropped Rory and Jess off (with a few significant looks at Jess), Rory went straight up to their bedroom. Jess watched her retreat to the bedroom and sighed. He wished he could have gotten a few good swings in at Emily that night, but he knew even if he had the chance, he would have never followed through. Hitting women wasn't something he would ever engage in. He also knew that hitting Emily Gilmore wouldn't put him in good graces with any of the family, even Lorelai and Rory would have been disappointed.

Jess sighed again. He wished he could do something for Rory to erase the hurt she was feeling right now. If he could do tonight over, he would fake some kind of illness so they wouldn't have had to go. He would push her harder to not tell Emily about the Save the Date card. Regardless of what had happened tonight though, all hell would have broken loose when Emily got the Save the Date card anyway. Jess wanted to do something, anything, for Rory. He suddenly smiled. He may not be able to take away the hurt but he could certainly make her forget.

-%

"Oh, Luuuuuuuuuuuuuke!" Lorelai yelled out, walking into the diner. Emma giggled at her mom's antics while Aaron gave an eye roll that was so similar to Luke's there was no question about where he learned that from.

Luke was in the kitchen and he smiled when he heard Lorelai call his name. He always told her not to do that, but he couldn't help but smile. He always told her not to shout, she always did and he always smiled, but tried to hide it. It was one of their many routines they had developed over the years.

"How many times have I told you not to do that?" Luke asked Lorelai, rhetorically after coming out of the kitchen.

Lorelai shrugged. "Not enough apparently," Aaron answered. Luke smiled at his son while Lorelai looked aghast. "Hey you!" Lorelai said to Aaron. "You are supposed to be on my side."

Aaron shook his head. "Not when you're wrong."

Emma and Lorelai shook their head while Luke and Aaron smiled. "How was Friday Night Dinner?" Luke asked, because he always asked after they got back.

Aaron and Emma's heads snapped toward Lorelai, expecting her to answer for them.

"What happened?" Luke sighed. He knew something was wrong, especially because Emma didn't answer. Most of the time, Aaron and Lorelai weren't too talkative after Friday Night Dinner, but Emma always was.

Lorelai just shook her head and glanced at the kids quickly. Luke understood her silent language and knew she would tell him when they got home. "Well, I was just cleaning the grill. Let me finish that and dump this coffee out and then we can leave."

"NO!" Lorelai and Emma both shouted.

"The coffee!" Lorelai said. "Don't dump it out. We'll drink it."

"It's stale," Luke told them.

"It's coffee!" Lorelai said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"It's probably cold," Luke tried again.

"It's coffee!" Emma said, just like her mother, completely unfazed.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Fine, if you want to kill yourself." He poured Lorelai coffee in her usual mug and he gave Emma a small cup.

"How come Mommy gets more than me!" Emma questioned Luke.

"You always ask me this," Luke reminded her. "And I always tell you the same thing. When you get older you will get a mug like hers. Although I keep hoping you won't like coffee when that day comes."

"Not a chance, hon," Lorelai told him. "Once a coffee lover…"

Emma finished for her, "Always a coffee lover."

"You'll be sorry when you die from so much coffee!" Aaron exclaimed.

"I can't really be sorry for anything after I'm dead, Aaron," Emma said, completely calm, slowly sipping her coffee.

Lorelai burst out laughing and even Luke had to turn around and go back to the kitchen to continue cleaning the grill if he didn't want the rest of his family to see the smile that had appeared on his face from Emma's remark. She was obviously a Gilmore.

-%

Jess walked upstairs to see Rory sitting on their bed. She had her laptop open and resting on her legs under the pretense of working. He knew she wasn't though. For one thing, she was staring off into space; he would be willing to bet she didn't even see him come in. For another thing, she still looked incredibly sad, and she wouldn't look like this if she had been working. Maybe seducing her wouldn't be the best course of action tonight to make her forget.

"Rory," Jess said, making her jump slightly. "You've got to stop stewing over this."

"I'm not stewing," Rory argued. "I'm working."

"You're stewing," Jess told her decidedly and came to sit beside her, moving her laptop (which was open to a blank Word document, more proof that she wasn't working) from resting on her legs to the floor beside the bed and gently closed it. "Listen, you know your grandmother didn't mean what she said. She loves you, she would never think anything bad about you."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Stop defending her. And stop skirting around the issue. I was a mistake. A…horrible mistake."

Jess winced at the hurt in her voice. "Rory, honey—"

Rory cut him off. "No! Let's face it, I was a mistake. Something that never should have happened."

"Hey, Ms. Yale graduate," Jess tried to tease. "That's not what mistake means. You're missing a vital part of the definition. A mistake is something that shouldn't have happened, something that the person regrets. What you were defining was an accident."

"So, I was an accident!" Rory exclaimed. "Jess, that's not much better!"

He shook his head. "You were not an accident. A surprise. A wonderful surprise. A blessing; anything but a mistake. Lorelai, Luke, Christopher, they don't regret having and meeting you. No one could ever regret meeting you."

Rory scrubbed her hands down her face. "I know this shouldn't bother me. I'm proud of where I am in my life, I'm proud of what I've done. I am at a good place and most of my successes have been because of me and me only. I mean, yeah, they did give me money to go to Chilton, but that's it. I caught up with the work and managed to graduate valedictorian. That wouldn't have happened just because they gave me some money. I got accepted to Harvard, Princeton AND Yale. Three prestigious schools accepted me because of what I did in Chilton. And yeah, again, they gave me money for Yale, but I still did well on my own. I'm now working at the Hartford Gazette and I have a pretty good job. I mean, sure, I'm not Christine Amanpour, but I honestly think I could be getting close if I didn't want to watch Aaron and Emma grow up and become amazing people. But still, my stories get on the front page and people actually read them. I even managed to meet some famous names in their high society. I met Paris, and might even call her my friend. Then there was Tristan DuGrey, whom I didn't know for very long, but was still my acquaintance. I also met the Huntsburgers, who were HUGE in grandma and grandpa's high society. I also have amazing people in Stars Hollow who love me and would drop everything in a second if I needed it. I have an incredible fiancé who I love and who loves me. I have Lorelai, who is the best mom a girl could ever ask for, and Luke is fantastic as my dad. I am proud of where I am. I'm proud of who I know. I really am. But I just keep thinking…if I wasn't born maybe another smart girl would've gotten into Chilton. Maybe my mom and grandma wouldn't have such a rocky relationship. Maybe you could've met a girl whose grandmother wouldn't harass you just because you want to be a teacher and want to go to training."

Rory's voice shook before she lapsed into silence and Jess shook his head. "No. I can be harassed by Emily Gilmore until doomsday and I will still want you. Everybody wants you. Chilton would have missed a vital part of their student body if they didn't have you. Paris would've had no competition and wouldn't have gotten president, because a person who everyone likes, you, wouldn't have been her vice president. Everyone in Stars Hollow would be deprived of a great girl if they didn't know you. Lorelai would still be a crazy kid if she never had you. You made her grow up and made her be the best mother ever. Luke wouldn't be the father he is today if he hadn't gotten to practice on you and he definitely wouldn't have known what to do with me. And I...I would be completely lost without you in my life. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Rory sighed. "Why can't I listen to myself? Why can't I listen to my mom, listen to you and believe it? Why don't I believe it?" Rory's voice lowered to such a quiet whisper it was questionable to her if Jess could even hear it. "Why does it hurt so much?"

Jess was at a loss. He gathered her into his arms and let her head rest on his chest. He wished he could do something more for her, wished he could say something more. But what was he supposed to say to her that he hadn't already said? What could he say to lessen the pain of her grandmother calling her a mistake? He didn't think there was anything.

Jess wondered if she knew how many people knew she wasn't a mistake, knew that she was wonderful. He wondered if she knew how many people actually wanted her. He was definitely one of them. As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he wondered again about his original plan. He had come up to the bedroom with the intention of seducing her, making her forget. Maybe he could show her how much she was wanted.

"Rory," Jess whispered in her ear. "There are so many people that love you, so many people who want you."

Rory looked up at him with tears still in her eyes and some on her cheeks. "Prove it."

Jess sighed. If she was asking, he didn't feel so guilty anymore. To tell the truth, he still wasn't sure he should do this, but he was sure it could make her forget and he wasn't sure he could handle rejecting her tonight. He could never really deny her anything, and after her grandmother's words tonight, this would feel like a rejection to Rory; more proof that she was a "mistake." He wiped the tears off her cheeks with his thumbs and brought his lips to hover over hers. Before he connected their lips and let his mind concentrate solely on showing Rory how much he loved her and how much he wanted her, he whispered, "My pleasure."

-%

"I'll kill her!" Luke shouted.

"Be quiet!" Lorelai commanded. "Aaron and Emma are asleep."

"I'll kill her," Luke growled, quieter this time, but still as angry.

"You're not going to kill my mother," Lorelai told him.

"Can't I inflict some kind of pain on her?" Luke asked.

"Are we having some kind of Freaky Friday moment?" Lorelai asked rhetorically. "Because you are definitely acting a lot like me right now, and I am definitely being you."

"Freaky Friday?" Luke asked, momentarily distracted.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. She may have married him, but he had gotten no better in the movie department. "I repeat, you cannot kill my mother, or inflict any kind of pain on her."

Luke shook his head in confusion. "She hurt Rory. Don't you want to kill her?"

Lorelai sighed. "Yes and no. I mean, I yelled at her and told her I hated her, and I pretty much do. At the same time though, there is a part of me that knows eventually everything will be okay again. Of course, I'm not sure when that day will be, and ultimately it's totally up to Rory, but if I know my daughter, this fight can't last too long. She loves her grandparents too much."

Luke shook his head again. "I don't know. This has to have cut pretty deep. Are you sure I can't do anything at all to Emily?"

Lorelai laughed. "You can yell at her. She might be scared of you…although I doubt that would help her like you any better."

"That's hardly satisfying," Luke complained.

"Sorry, hon," Lorelai said, smiling. Moments like these made her fall in love with Luke all over again. She just loved how much Luke loved Rory, a child who wasn't even his flesh and blood. How he would threaten to kill anyone who hurt her, and probably inflict bodily harm on Emily if Lorelai let him. She was sure he wouldn't kill Emily, because she wasn't sure he could kill anyone, but he would definitely hurt her.

"What?" Luke asked, after Lorelai had been staring at him for a few minutes.

Lorelai shrugged. "I love you, that's all."

Luke smiled as he moved over to stand in front of her. "I love you, too."

Lorelai stood up on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck and press her lips to his. Luke felt himself begin to kiss her back and felt his body respond. From that moment on, they lost themselves in each other and all thoughts of Emily and her angry words fled from their minds.

_Quick note. When I started this series I ignored the fight between Rory and Lorelai, which means I'm also ignoring the time when Rory moved out of her grandparent's house and was in a fight with them. Therefore, that never happened, so at this point, she has never really been in a fight with them before. Anyway, tell me how you felt about this chapter in a review please! _


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I own Aaron and Emma. That is pretty much it. _

_ A/N: This might be kind of a boring chapter, but I promise it all needs to be said. Or at least, I think it does! Thanks for the lovely reviews on the last chapter, I hope you enjoy this one! _

The wedding planning had definitely picked up now that the wedding was only a month away. Obviously Emily was no longer welcome in the planning sessions, but they had plenty of help from the residents of their small little town.

Before they knew it, another Friday night had rolled around. The whole family Lorelai, Rory, Emma, Aaron, and Jess were sitting in Luke's Diner. They hadn't ordered yet and sitting in the diner was a little awkward in general, because it was a Friday night, and they were supposed to be at the Gilmore's. Of course, they weren't going again until Emily chose to apologize and until Rory chose to forgive. They had draped a sheet over the elephant in the room though, because they were all thinking about being at the Gilmore's, but no one, not even Aaron, was going to mention it.

Lorelai was staring out the window and suddenly gasped. "Uh-oh."

"What?" Jess asked.

"Well, I'm not sure, but trouble could be coming," Lorelai pointed to a very fancy car parking in front of Luke's Diner. The only place they had seen that car before was at the Gilmore's mansion and they were absolutely positive this was their car.

Rory closed her eyes. "Oh no. I knew Grandma wouldn't be able to let it go."

"Don't worry!" Emma cried. "It's just Gramps."

Richard Gilmore walked into the diner sending the little bell on the door into a fit, ringing loudly.

"Gramps!" Emma shouted. "How did you know we were here? What are _you_ doing here?"

Richard smiled at his youngest granddaughter. "I went to your house and didn't find you there, and met a nice, although quite talkative, lady at Rory's house who told me that if I couldn't find you at either place it was most likely you would be here. Of course, she seemed very surprised that you weren't in Hartford tonight."

"The town doesn't know yet?" Jess asked, shocked.

"Well, it's only been a week," Aaron rationalized.

"But with Ms. Patty and Babette," Jess pointed out.

"We haven't told anyone," Lorelai said. "Besides, they would only find out if we continued being seen on Friday nights in town. Of course, they know now, because Dad was outside the Crap Shack and ran into Babette."

"Crap Shack?" Richard asked confused. "Babette?"

Aaron shook his head. "Trust me, Gramps, you don't want to know. It's just some stupid stuff that would take too long to answer."

"Hey!" Rory said. "You do not get to call my house or my crazy neighbor stupid!"

Aaron shrugged. "I'm telling the truth."

Rory shook her head. "You are too much like Luke."

"Why thank you," Aaron said, smiling. Being told he was like his father was the highest form of compliments when it came to him.

"Richard, you never answered Emma's other question," Jess reminded him. "What _are _you doing here?"

Richard sighed. "Well, it is Friday night and we are supposed to have dinner. Now, I completely understand that you cannot come to our house anymore because of recent events, but that shouldn't mean I don't get to see my daughter and grandchildren. Therefore, I have decided to come to your house…well, town, for dinner. I had originally planned to come to your house, but since no one was at your respective houses…"

"Dad, you should've told us," Lorelai said. "We would've been there."

Richard shrugged his shoulders. "There's always next week."

"Won't Grandma be mad?" Rory asked, her voice quiet. She didn't want her grandmother to be mad at Richard or at her family, no matter how she may feel about her right now.

"She doesn't know," Richard told Rory. "And she will probably never know. Of course, I am doing nothing wrong. I have every right to see you…unless you don't want me to."

"No, no!" Rory hurried to assure him. "We do. You're right. You didn't do anything wrong. Not now and not before."

Richard nodded. "Well then, I see you don't have food. I assume you haven't already eaten." When everyone at the table shook their heads he continued, "Let's eat!"

Luke, who had heard seen Richard climb out of the fancy car and had been keeping a careful watch on the conversation ever since then, walked over to them. He was quite proud of the elder Gilmore. He knew it wasn't easy for him to defy his wife, even if she didn't know she was being defied, and come all the way to Stars Hollow to eat with his family. Then again, he was glad he was doing it. If there was anything Rory needed right now, it was love and assurance that no matter what Emily had said or done, Rory was NOT a mistake.

"What would you like?" Luke asked coming to stand in front of their table. Like always, Lorelai, Rory and Emma ordered something fattening, cholesterol filled and unhealthy. Jess and Aaron ordered something healthy and Richard just shook his head at the different dynamics of this family. He ordered a burger, but asked for lettuce and tomatoes on it and also got a salad on the side. He figured the burger couldn't hurt him too much if he was balancing it out with the healthy food too. "I'll be back in a few minutes with the food," Luke assured them.

"Hey, get yourself some food and eat with us!" Lorelai shouted at his retreating form.

Luke smiled back at her and nodded his head as his assent. The smile stayed on Luke's face throughout the night. Everyone was smiling the whole night, even Aaron, and Luke had a feeling this was the most enjoyable night the family had ever spent with one of the elder Gilmore's.

"Do you have to go already, Gramps?" Aaron asked him.

Richard looked at his grandson, shock apparent in his features. Aaron was never one to beg for him to stay. "I'm afraid so. If I get back any later Emily won't believe I was at the club and I will have to form a more fashionable lie, which will not turn out well."

"Will we see you next Friday?" Lorelai asked.

"Of course," Richard agreed. "Just tell me what time and where."

"Make it six-thirty, our usual time," Rory said.

"And at our house!" Emma offered.

Lorelai nodded. "That works. As long as you can get a night off, Luke. We have to have someone to cook the food!"

Jess chuckled. "I would hate to see what would happen to the house if these girls tried to cook."

"Hey!" Lorelai, Rory and Emma shouted.

Richard was laughing too. "I have a feeling they would be just as horrible as Emily. That is why the cook does all of our cooking. I will see you all next week?"

"Of course you will," Rory said. "After all…"

"It is Friday Night," Lorelai finished. She had a feeling that as long as they could, the tradition of Friday Night Dinner would always be upheld. Even if it turned out to be in Stars Hollow, in Luke's Diner, with only one of her parents.

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"I don't believe you!" Emily shouted at Richard.

"Emily, dear," Richard tried to placate her. "I was at the club with some of the men from the firm. We were talking about old times and I was telling them how horrible they are doing without me."

"I don't believe you!" Emily repeated. "I have proof! I called the club earlier to ask you if we could make it tomorrow night to the Lockwood's for dinner. Naturally we can't because we don't like them, but I had to make it look like we might come. When I called the club they said you weren't there and hadn't been there all night! So, Richard…tell me where you were all night!"

Richard sighed. He knew when he had been beat. "I went to Friday Night Dinner with our daughter and grandchildren, in Stars Hollow."

"What?!" Emily shrieked.

"Please, you don't have to yell," Richard told her.

"How dare you betray me like that? How dare you talk to them when I can't?" Emily cried.

Richard narrowed his eyes. He wasn't prone to fighting with his wife, but when the situation called for it, he would. Right now, the situation called for it. "How dare you try to make this about you? I know your memory hasn't failed you yet, but I will refresh it for you. You can't see them or talk to them because _you_ called Rory, our granddaughter, a mistake. That family hates _you_ because of that. I tried to defend her; I tried to shut your mouth before you opened it and caused a rift again, but you wouldn't listen to me. This estrangement, the fact that you won't see Rory get married, the fact that you won't ever see her children, the fact that you might not even see Emma, Aaron and Lorelai again is not their fault. They have been nothing but pleasant toward you in six years. Those children love us but the same thing is going to happen to them that happened with Rory. I will not miss these two kids growing up because of something you said. You won't see them grow up, you won't see Rory get married or have children and you have no one to blame for that but yourself. See how that feels. I'm going to the pool house." With a final look at his wife, he was gone, the door had slammed and Emily was left alone.

Emily turned around and her eyes alighted on the picture of her, Richard and Lorelai above the mantle. Her eyes traveled down and she saw a picture of Rory graduating Chilton and a picture of Rory and Jess. Sliding her eyes a little more to the right, there was a picture of Luke, Lorelai, Emma, Aaron, Rory and Jess that had been on the last Christmas card. To the right of that was a picture of Lorelai and Luke from their wedding and lastly, two pictures, one of Aaron and one of Emma, both the twins smiling sweetly for the camera. Emily hated the thought that this might be the last memories she ever had of her grandchildren. As much as she hated to admit it, Richard was right. This was all her fault. She stood next to the mantle staring at the pictures and knew she had to do something to fix this. She was not going to allow some stupid words that she didn't even mean to come between her and her granddaughter. They had always been close.

Walking up the stairs Emily found herself in the room that she had furnished for Rory after she found out her first ten years were lived in that horrible potting shed. She traced one of the sunflowers on the wallpaper and smiled at the stupid boy band posters she had the maid tack up. As she sat down on the bed she had made up to be Rory's, with pink sheets and all, the tears that had been welling up in her eyes since she walked into this room finally fell. She had to quit doing things that made her an outsider in her own family. She had turned her daughter, her granddaughter and now her own husband against her. Emily squeezed her eyes shut and the tears fell faster. Lorelai may have thought Emily had her life all figured out, but Lorelai was wrong. Emily had made bigger messes with her family than Lorelai ever could. Fixing this one was going to take a massive amount of…something. The fact that Emily didn't know what that was worried her because if she didn't know what she needed to fix this…how could she ever hope to make things better?

_Well, what do you think? Yes, I realize this hasn't been updated in forever, but I keep forgetting about it. So, if you're still with me could you please let me know and review? _


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: Emma is mine, but I'm making no money off of her. _

_A/N: Here's another chapter for you. I hope you like it. What will happen between Rory and Emily? Here's the answer. Enjoy! _

Rory sighed. "Mom, I don't see how we're ever going to get all of this done. You've barely even started my dress and the wedding is in two weeks. Not to mention I still have to type out the programs, make sure the food gets where it needs to go on the correct date, make sure the flowers get to the church, get the flowers for Emma to throw, get a basket and hope against all hope that the bridesmaid dresses are going to get here in time. We just got the invitations finished today, so we still have to mail them and with Kirk being the mailman this week who knows when everyone will get them. I also got a letter from Taylor saying something was wrong with my permit requesting the church so I have to go in and fix that in two days or he can't hold the church anymore. And do a million other things along with all that! Where is Lane? She was supposed to be here an hour ago and help with all these calls that need to be made!"

"Sweets, calm down," Lorelai said, desperately hoping to calm her daughter. "Everything is going to turn out fine. I'm finished with the pattern for your dress, the sewing and altering will be so easy. You don't have to worry about the food; since Sookie's catering everything will be super. She may be scatterbrained, but she will not mess up your reception. Getting Emma's flowers will be easy as well. As for Lane, she probably got distracted with the boys, Steve and Kwan, but she will be here soon, don't worry." Lorelai heard the doorbell. "See, that's probably her now. Go answer the door and don't freak out. We don't need a Bridezilla on our hands."

Rory narrowed her eyes at her mom. As she began to walk toward the door she called out to the person on the other side. "Lane, where have you been? We have been waiting for—" Rory abruptly cut off when she saw who was on the other side.

After Lorelai heard Rory's sentence cut off, she called out to her. "Rory, who was at the door?"

When Rory didn't answer, Lorelai got up and walked toward the door. "Rory, who—" Lorelai couldn't finish her sentence when she saw who was standing at the door either.

Rory was the first one to manage to recover herself. "How may we help you, Grandmother?"

Lorelai was able to wince at the tone of Rory's voice and her use of the word "grandmother" but also knew that her mother deserved every word that Rory could and might dish out. Considering who they were talking about though, Emily might deserve a little more than Rory would give.

"May I come in?" Emily asked, softly. She felt a tug at her heart when Rory called her "grandmother," but she knew she deserved it and knew she was not in any position to argue.

Rory looked over at her mother. She sighed, because the look in Lorelai's eyes told her this was all on her and she would back her up no matter what she said. "I guess so." Rory agreed. "But, we do have a lot of planning to do, so if you will hurry, it would be very much appreciated."

Rory walked to the living room and assumed Emily would follow. Lorelai shot an ugly look at her mother and went toward the kitchen, where she and Rory were before her mother interfered. She was going to sit quietly and put the finishing touches on the pattern for her daughter's wedding dress. If things got out of hand though, she was going to be at the ready to jump in to save her baby, if she had to.

Rory quickly caught her mother's eye when she saw her going toward the kitchen and shook her head. She wanted Lorelai in the living room with them. She had to stay mad at her Emily and while she was sure she could do that on her own, if Emily managed to make her speechless, she wanted to make sure someone would be there with the hateful words to give. Rory was just hoping she wouldn't need such words from her mother, or from herself. Many years though had taught her that when it came to Emily Gilmore, one could never be too careful.

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"Could you both please sit down?" Emily asked them as she sat down on the couch.

Rory sat down in the chair closest to the stairs and Lorelai sat on the arm of that chair. Rory wasn't going to open her mouth. Since Emily had come seeking her out, she wasn't about to speak until she was spoken to. She didn't know what her grandmother wanted and she wasn't going to assume anything, because with Emily Gilmore, she really couldn't. Emily could be here to yell at her or to try to beg for her forgiveness. Well, more like expect Rory's forgiveness. Gilmore's, especially Emily, never begged.

Emily looked into Rory's eyes. "I would like to apologize for my hasty assumptions and unforgivable words to you and your fiancé during dinner two weeks ago."

Rory blinked. She was very surprised at Emily's words. First of all, she sounded very sincere and sounded as though she was actually remorseful. Rory looked over at Lorelai, who too looked shocked. Although this definitely was a start she didn't see the need to say anything yet.

Lorelai though, didn't feel the same way. "Well, that's a start." The words were whispered, but both women heard them. Rory smiled and the corners of Emily's lips even looked as though they might be turned up in some form of a smile.

"I just wasn't thinking about what I was saying Friday. I don't think I was thinking at all," Emily continued. "I heard you say you moved the wedding date up and I just saw you, the perfect, innocent grandchild that I loved making the same decisions as your mother. While I regret the decision your mother and Christopher made on that night long ago, I can't say I regret the outcome. The decision the two teenagers made that night was a mistake, but you were a miracle and I guess, in a way, I'm thankful for that decision, because I would've never met you if such hadn't happened."

At that, Lorelai made a little sound of surprise. Did her mother just say she was thankful that Lorelai and Christopher had sex? Her mother was being delicate about the issue (and Lorelai was sure half of that was so Emily didn't have to say the word sex) but Lorelai didn't think she could mistake what Emily just said. When she ran the words over again in her head, she definitely said she was thankful. Was Emily on some sort of drug?

Emily smiled at the shocked look on the almost identical faces of mother and daughter. Same mouth slightly opened in shock, same blue eyes open wide. "Yes, I did say I was thankful. Although I will never want to relive the shame and the regret and the sadness that filled me, I could never be ashamed of such a miracle that decision caused. Rory, I know that asking for your forgiveness is too much right now and honestly, I'm not sure I ever deserve to be forgiven for what I said. I can only hope that you can find it in your heart to look past the horrible words I said to you that night. What you heard, what I said, was never meant to come out the way it did, was never meant to imply what it did and I only hope you know that. If you didn't, I hope you know that now and know I mean what I'm saying with every fiber of my being."

Emily felt tears coming to her eyes again. "I am proud of everything you have achieved in your life, Rory. I have all of you articles saved in your old room and most of the newsletters from Chilton that mentioned your name, because it was always with some kind of honor attached to it. I couldn't wish for anything more. It's an honor to be your grandmother, Rory Gilmore."

Rory and Lorelai weren't much better off than Emily, as tears were filling their eyes as well. Rory almost couldn't even remember why she was mad anymore and knew that everything her grandmother had said that night would be forgotten in an instant. It would never be spoken of again and would never be thought of again. She shared a silent, quick look with Lorelai that spoke volumes. They both agreed on the subject and knew that Emily was sincere and was forgiven. Both girls didn't see why there was any need to be angry any longer. Emily had bared her soul in her apology and could only be sincere.

When Emily stood, turned away from the girls and began to walk to the door, Rory's voice stopped her. "Grandma, wait."

Emily turned back around and saw Rory lean over to the coffee table. She picked up one of the neatly, very recently, typed wedding invitations and handed it to her grandmother. "You are cordially invited to the wedding of Rory Gilmore and Jess Mariano. Please come help us commemorate this occasion with a ceremony then reception afterward. Singing, dancing, cake eating and coffee drinking will take place," Rory recited from the invitation which she knew by heart. She looked at her grandma then, and deviated from what the invitation said. "Save this invitation and please come. And for future reference, I consider it much more of an honor to call myself your granddaughter."

After that, Emily's tears wouldn't stay at bay any longer. She manage to nod and give a watery chuckle before her tears came full force. Rory and Lorelai weren't far behind her and soon all three women were embracing and crying and trying to get to the couch through the blurriness of their tears. Thirty minutes later, when Emma woke up from her nap, she came downstairs and saw all three women sitting on the couch laughing and talking like best friends. Emma didn't know what happened between the women, but she knew everything was going to be okay now. She knew they would go back to Friday Night Dinner and everything was normal. She knew Rory would be less stressed out about the wedding planning (she had gone to take a nap to get away from her frantic sister) and Emma knew the family was again mended. They had scars and patches from the rifts, but they were always fixed. She ran to the couch, climbed up onto her mother's lap and hugged her grandma's neck. She was soon joining in on the laughter that was ringing throughout the room and when Lane hurriedly walked in, apologies on her lips, she promptly shut her mouth and quickly backed out again, leaving the four Gilmore women to their conversing.

_ And all is forgiven. Expected? Or did you think I would drag it out longer? I'm not really sure when the next chapter will come…or what exactly it will contain, since it has been so long since I have touched this story. If you are still reading, will you please review! If you are still reading, thanks! _


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. _

_A/N: And like a month later you get chapter eight. Sorry this has taken so long. I have it all written, it's just finding time to post it…and remembering to post it…that seems to be the problem! I hope you enjoy!_

Rory sighed sitting on her bed in her room…well, it was her mom's room when they lived in the Crap Shack but now it was hers, and Jess'. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Jess was standing in front of her and at her statement he smiled. "You will if you know what's good for you."

Rory couldn't help but chuckle. "I _will_ see you tomorrow."

Jess took her hands and pulled her up from the bed to stand in front of him. He placed his forehead against hers. "I love you."

Rory smiled. "I love you, too."

Jess gave her a quick kiss but couldn't help himself and had to initiate a second one, deepen it and tangle his tongue with hers. When they had to break apart for air, Rory put her hands on his chest and pushed him back playfully. "Get out of here."

He tried to bring his mouth back to hers. "What if I don't want to?"

"Too bad," Rory told him. "I would like to get married tomorrow, which means you need to leave. We don't need any bad luck!"

"I've never known you to be superstitious," Jess teased.

"I'm not being superstitious. I'm being careful," Rory argued. "Goodbye."

Jess laughed and kissed her one last time. "Goodbye."

Rory heard the door shut downstairs and heard the decisive click of the lock. She knew Jess had locked it with his own key. He was the exact replica of Luke in that area. He always insisted that she lock the door, even though this was Stars Hollow and she didn't think anything would ever happen.

Rory flopped down on her bed. It was only 6:00, but she didn't know how to occupy herself now that Jess was gone. _Stop it, Rory!_ She scolded herself. Jess usually wasn't even home at this time; he was usually in school until at least seven or eight. Since he worked in Andrew's bookstore during the daytime he went to school at night. She knew Jess not being here tonight shouldn't bother her, but she couldn't help but know it was going to.

When someone tried the door downstairs and then rang the bell, Rory jumped. She knew it was just her mom and sister. They were coming over tonight to spend the night and then get ready together the next morning. Lorelai complained that it wasn't fair for the guys to get ready at the Twickham House when the girls were getting ready at the Crap Shack. Lorelai reminded her daughter of the statement she made when Lorelai was going to get married, when she said the bride and groom should get ready in the same place. Rory didn't care. She said that was different. Because Rory was getting married in a church, they would naturally be in the same place in a set time and they had to get pictures taken in the church as well. They could put the finishing touches on there. Rory also pointed out that her mom got married in the town square and she would have been seen by Luke for sure. Rory then said there was so much uncertainty in her mom's wedding anyway…and Lorelai then stopped Rory and huffed a disgruntled, "Fine!"

When the doorbell rang again with her mom's voice attached, Rory smiled, stopped her thinking and got up off the bed and ran downstairs to answer the door. "Hey, Mom; hello, Emma."

"Gram will be here in the morning," Emma announced skipping into the house, carrying her dress importantly. "Where should I put this?"

"Put it in my old room," Rory instructed her. "First come here and get Mom's dress though and take that with you."

After Emma had made her way to Rory's room, she squealed. There was a new book on Rory's bed from Jess and when Emma poked her head into the living room (where Rory and Lorelai now were), Rory told her the book was for her. Emma, of course, promptly ran back into Rory's bedroom and Rory knew she was now sitting on the bed already enthralled in the book.

Sitting on the couch with the TV on, Lorelai couldn't help but study her daughter. Rory was pretending to watch TV, but Lorelai could tell she was far away. "What's wrong?" she finally had to ask.

"What?" Rory asked her mom, pretending to have not heard the question because she was so interested in the television program.

"What's wrong?" Lorelai repeated. She knew Rory had heard her, but she was just going to humor her for the time being.

Rory shrugged. "Nothing."

Lorelai shook her head. "You're lying. Tell me what's going on."

"It's pathetic," Rory insisted. "I mean, Jess has been gone for at least an hour. He's been gone for longer than this before, he's even been gone overnight…but I miss him."

Lorelai couldn't help it. She had to smile. She had experienced the same thing before she got married to Luke. She hadn't even been able to sleep that night because she wasn't used to sleeping without Luke. Lorelai knew this experience, while it might seem pathetic, was not at all unusual. Lorelai loved how much her daughter was like her.

"Why are you smiling?" Rory asked. "Go ahead, can you please mock me and get it over with?"

"Don't you remember the morning before I got married?" Lorelai asked her. "You didn't mock me for missing Luke."

Rory tilted her head. "You did miss Luke."

"See," Lorelai said. "It is pathetic…"

"But normal?" Rory asked.

Lorelai laughed. "I suppose."

Rory smiled at her mother. She had missed nights with just her and her mother. She wasn't discounting Emma, but she knew Emma wouldn't be seen for at least a couple of hours, she would be engrossed in the book. After that, it would be so late, that she would be unable to stay awake for much longer. Yes, she was a Gilmore, but she was still a young one. Rory's smile got a little wider. Maybe this night wouldn't be so bad after all.

-%

Jess was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels. There was never anything interesting on at this time of day anyway. He wasn't really sure why he was searching, but there was nothing better to do.

Jess shook his head. This was pathetic. It really was. He never figured he would be the type of guy who couldn't stand to be away from his fiancé for more than one day. He shouldn't be this type of guy. After all, he was supposed to be a tough guy. He remembered him at sixteen and then grimaced. He couldn't even stand to be away from Rory then. Of course, at that point he had forced himself to be away from her and hurt both of them. He knew that wasn't the same as this but—

"Jess!" Luke shouted.

Jess jumped and looked at Luke. "Jeez! Do you have to shout?"

Luke pressed his lips together and tried to keep his grumpy look. This was funny though. He had never seen his nephew quite like this before. "I do have to shout. Especially when you don't answer me the first couple of times."

Jess rolled his eyes. "Was there something you wanted?"

Luke rolled his eyes as well. This was the Jess Mariano he was used to. "I was just wondering if you wanted some dinner. Excuse me for trying to nourish you."

Jess sighed. "Luke, I'm sorry. I'll eat. What do you have?"

"Aaron wanted chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and fruit," Luke told him. He smiled at the menu. At least Aaron wasn't like the female members of his family. He wouldn't be able to handle it if Aaron wanted a burger, chili fries and all the other unhealthy things that the Gilmore girls loved. He was still unsure as to why his diner served these things, but if he didn't, he never would have met those girls. He would forever be thankful that he turned his dad's old hardware store into a diner, because he knew Lorelai and her daughter would have never walked into a hardware store.

Jess nodded. "That's fine. I'll be in there in a few minutes."

Luke studied Jess for a few more minutes and couldn't help but let a small smile grace his lips. "You miss Rory."

"Excuse me?" Jess asked. He couldn't believe Luke would say that. Of course he missed her, but he wasn't about to tell Luke that. He would be mocked for years to come, by Luke and by the girls.

"You miss Rory," Luke repeated, trying very hard not to laugh.

"I do not!" Jess insisted. "That would be pathetic!"

Luke nodded. "Well, at least you recognize it."

Jess narrowed his eyes at him. "Go away, Uncle Luke."

Luke, as per usual, had no comment for that and turned around to walk into the kitchen. "I told you not to call me that! If you decide you want some food come into the kitchen."

Jess watched Luke walk into the kitchen, shook his head, but had to smile a little. Maybe this night wouldn't be so bad after all.

_Let me know what you thought of this chapter! The next one should contain getting ready for the wedding. And possibly the wedding itself? If you read, please review! _


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I don't own all of the characters. _

_A/N: Here you are, the wedding. I hope it's everything you hoped for! Enjoy! _

Emma gasped. "Rory, you look so pretty!"

Rory smiled at her little sister. "Thanks." Rory shook her head. "I hate weddings."

"Oh you do not," Lorelai contradicted.

Rory resisted the urge to run her hands through her perfectly crafted hair. "Well, I hate this one. All these pictures I just smiled for killed my cheeks and I won't be able to smile for the rest of the wedding, I haven't seen Jess in at least 16 hours and I have never been this stressed out."

Emma turned to her mom and whispered, "Bridezilla."

Lorelai laughed and it seemed Rory had heard Emma by the glare she gave both girls.

Emma couldn't help it, she had to laugh. She tried to apologize though. "Sorry, Rory."

"I must contradict your earlier statement, Kid," Lorelai told her. "I have a feeling you have been this stressed out lots of times. Remember when you first got into Chilton. Remember all your finals during Chilton. You were making lists and freaking out. How about when you were taking five courses your first year at Yale, which was definitely too many. How about when the paper wasn't going to come out and you stayed up all night trying to make sure the paper would come out your last year of Yale. How about Paris, which is stress in itself."

"Hey!" Paris said.

"Sorry, Paris," Lorelai apologized.

Rory still didn't look totally at ease and Lorelai had a feeling there was something Rory wasn't telling her. She had a feeling Rory wouldn't tell be telling her with Lane, Paris and Emma still in the room.

Lorelai shot a look at Lane and Lane instantly knew what Lorelai wanted. Lane could also tell Rory wasn't totally comfortable yet and she wanted Rory to be comfortable too. Lane could tell it was more than pre-wedding jitters as well. "Hey, Emma, let's go see if your grandparents are here yet and Paris…don't you want to go see Doyle?"

"I saw Doyle thirty minutes ago," Paris told her.

"Yeah, but I think you want to see him again," Lane told her.

"I don't…" Paris started.

"Yes, you do," Lane said, dragging Paris out of the room, with Paris complaining all the way and Emma trailing behind, laughing.

When they were gone, Lorelai turned back to Rory. "Okay, now we are going to sit over here and you're going to tell me exactly what's wrong."

Rory followed her mom and sighed. She was hoping Lorelai wouldn't notice, even though she knew her hopes were all in vain. She was never able to hide her worries and feelings from her mom. Lorelai had told Rory when they were looking for wedding gowns that they had ESP when it came to these things, and while she didn't believe that, there was definitely something!

Lorelai sat down beside her daughter and fixed her with a serious look. "What's wrong?"

Rory rolled her lips a few times but knew she had to answer. "You don't think…Chris will show up do you?"

"And become a wedding crasher?" Lorelai finished.

Rory gave a little smile. "I'm just saying it's very possible. Don't you remember the crashing of your wedding he engaged in."

"He didn't crash my wedding," Lorelai reminded her daughter.

"Fine," Rory agreed. "He didn't crash the wedding, but it was close enough. He got the guests all riled up, made Dad and Jess want to kill him, and even made me cry! I just wouldn't put it past him to show up right when I'm about to walk down the aisle, trying to walk down with me as my dad…which I would _never_ let him do."

Lorelai sighed. Yes, she could totally see Chris doing that and ruining the wedding. "Rory, I'm not going to tell you your worries are unfounded, because in all honestly, well, they aren't. I can promise you that if Chris tries any crashing, before, during or after this wedding I will kill him. And I will bet you anything that Luke will not let him walk you down the aisle if you don't want him to."

"Damn right I won't!" Luke promised from the door.

Rory and Lorelai both jumped, Luke surprising them, having come in when they were talking. He had heard the tail end, and if Chris even thought about doing anything to Rory's wedding, well…it would not be pretty.

"See, Sweets," Lorelai told her. "You're covered."

Rory smiled and looked at her mom. "You know, that could be construed as a very disturbing dirty."

Lorelai laughed and Luke couldn't help but roll his eyes and add, "Jeez."

Lane rushed back into the room, with Paris and Emma following close behind. "Are you guys ready? It's a minute past."

Rory sighed as she got up and walked over to the mirror. She twirled slowly and smiled. The dress her mom made really was beautiful. It fit her curves perfectly and she smiled when she thought of Jess' reaction to it. "Relax, Lane," Rory said after she had finished the inspection. "I'm ready."

"No, you aren't!" Emma cried. "You're not wearing the tiara!"

Rory gasped as she realized Emma was right. "Mom! Where is it?"

"Right here," Lorelai told her daughter, reaching in her bag. "Thanks for remembering, Emma. You forget to wear this, Rory, and your grandmother would be on my back forever! You might even have to do a repeat wedding!"

Rory laughed as Lorelai situated the tiara on her head. She knew how important this tiara was to the family. It was an heirloom and it was meant to be passed down through the daughters of the family. Emily had given it to Lorelai to wear when she got married to Luke and then Rory was supposed to wear it. Rory was then supposed to pass it down to her daughter. Rory wasn't planning on telling her grandmother that she might very well never have children. The birthing process was not something she enjoyed entertaining for very long. Maybe she would just give it to Emma.

"Come on!" Lane exclaimed. "We don't have time for all this daydreaming. Get up, get up! The wedding needs to start!"

Rory smiled, walking to the outside of the church doors with her friends and family. She couldn't wait to get married, but before she did, there was something she had to do. She grabbed her mom's arm and pulled her away from the rest of the group for a minute.

"Hey, Mom," Rory said. "I assume you are okay with Jess, even after everything that has happened."

Lorelai smiled. "You know I am. Besides, it's a little late to be asking me this. You're getting married in two seconds!"

A smile spread across Rory's face. "Just checking." She suddenly wrapped her arms around her mom. "I love you."

Lorelai returned the hug. "Kid, you have no idea."

Luke cleared his throat. "I hate to interrupt a moment, but Lorelai, you have to walk down the aisle...now."

Lorelai and Rory both quickly broke the hug. Lorelai went to the church doors and Rory turned to her ring bearer and flower girl, Emma and Aaron. "I love you guys. And I always will. No matter what happens. I want you two to remember that, okay?"

"We love you too, Rory," Emma said, rushing to hug her sister. Emma noticed that Aaron didn't join her in the hug, so she rushed back to him, grabbed his arm and dragged him over to hug Rory too.

"Aw, jeez," Aaron grumbled, trying to wriggle out of Rory's hug.

"You know," Emma said. "It might not be so bad if you weren't intent on hating it."

Rory smiled and looked at Luke. "He's just like his daddy. He can't really help it."

Luke rolled his eyes and motioned for the twins walk down the aisle. He couldn't help but wonder when _he_ became the wedding planner. Rory turned to look at Luke and their eyes connected. She smiled at him.

"You look beautiful," Luke told her. He squinted. "Much too beautiful for him."

Rory couldn't help but laugh out loud. "He's your nephew. Aren't you supposed to be on his side?"

"Maybe," Luke acquiesced. "But you're my daughter. You were like my daughter long before he even came into the picture. So technically, I still have to worry about you."

Rory smiled at Luke, the man who had been like her dad for so long, and who now was and had been, legally, for five years. "I love you, Dad."

"I know," Luke said, trying not to roll his eyes. "I love you too."

Rory smiled at him as her music started playing. "I know."

-%

At the front, Jess was getting nervous. He wasn't so much nervous about getting married as he was about making himself look ridiculous. He had written some vows, per Rory's request, but he wasn't sure how good they were, since she didn't want to see them before the wedding. He also had no idea what her wedding gown looked like and that was the part he was most nervous about. She wouldn't let him see anything when it came to that. She told him that seeing the wedding gown before the ceremony constituted bad luck and she would "like very much to get married." He, of course, thought she was beautiful no matter what she wore, but when she was dressed up, well, he was in trouble. As he heard her music start and saw everyone stand up, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at Emma, Paris, Lane and Lorelai. They all would be staring at him, waiting for his reaction.

When Rory appeared at the end of the aisle though, Jess forgot about everyone who was most likely staring at him. He focused in on Rory and he had to remember to breath. In, out, in, out. She looked more beautiful than he had ever seen. She was smiling at him and he couldn't believe he was so lucky. He was marrying this girl today!

When she reached him, Reverend Skinner spoke up. "Who gives this woman to this man?"

Luke answered, "Her mother and I do." He knew that was something the dad always said, but Rory had told him many times that he was her dad. She also insisted that he say that, because if he didn't approve and didn't say it, she wouldn't be getting married.

Jess came down the first few steps and took her free hand. As he grasped it firmly and began to walk up the steps, Rory could only move so far, as Luke still had an iron grip on her other hand.

Rory couldn't help but laugh. She walked back towards Luke. She kissed his cheek and whispered, "I love you, Dad, but you've got to let go."

Luke gave her hand one last squeeze and whispered back, "I know. And I love you." He then raised his eyebrows at Jess. Jess came back down the stairs, took her hand again, and Luke let go of her other one. This time, they made it successfully up the stairs and Luke took his place behind Jess. He caught Lorelai's eye and he noticed her eye roll. He did notice the small smile that tugged at her lips though and he knew she was smiling at how protective he still was of Rory.

"Dearly beloved," Reverend Skinner began. "We are gathered here today to join these two, Jess Mariano and Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore in holy matrimony. If there be any one here who knows of reason why these two should not be joined, speak now or forever hold your peace."

"Wait! I have an objection!"

_Oh no! Who has an objection? Who do you think it is? Let me know in a review, why don't you! Thanks for reading! _


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. _

_A/N: I'm sorry I made you wait so long for this update. Time got away from me. Well, some of you were right in your review. If you were, Congratulations! If you weren't, I understand why you thought what you did! Enjoy! _

_Previously on_ I Love Being a Gilmore Girl_: "Wait, I have an objection!"_

Everyone gasped and looked toward the back of the church where the voice came from.

Rory closed her eyes. "Oh no!"

Jess smiled slightly when he heard a small growl come from Luke. The protective fire in Lorelai's eyes also made him smile. He was sure the same look was in Luke's eyes, and he slightly squeezed Rory's hands. He was sure this would be taken care of in no time.

"What are you doing here, Chris!" Lorelai asked with eyes narrowed. "How did you find out about this anyway?"

"The maids know everything," Chris said. "Emily's maid told my mother's maid who told my mother…and she told me."

Rory and Lorelai vaguely heard Emily mumble something about "finding good help" and this maid "was to be fired right away." They didn't have time to focus on that right now. Their main objective was getting Chris out of here, or at least to get rid of his objection, so Rory could get married.

"How can you even have an objection to my daughter getting married?" Lorelai asked. "You don't even know Jess!"

"It's not so much the marriage that I'm having problems with," Chris admitted. "It's more the proceedings that happened before."

Everyone gave Chris confused looks and Lorelai, again, voiced their confusion. "What?"

"I didn't get the chance to walk my daughter down the aisle," Chris said.

At that, Rory wasn't able to hold her anger in any longer. "What? No! I can't believe you just said that! You have a daughter, Chris. Her name is Gigi, and one day when she gets married she'll ask you to walk her down the aisle. When that day comes, I'll come barging into the church and yell that I have an objection. I'll say you can't possibly walk her down the aisle saying you're her dad, because you were mine first. Oh, wait! I can't do that. Why can't I? Because the day after you promised Mom and I we were going to finally be a family, you ran off to be someone else's dad. You ran off to be _her_ dad. I'm okay with that though. Mom found someone who promised us a family and he made good on that promise right away. I have a wonderful mom, great siblings and finally an amazing dad. I don't need you. I never really have. You pick your battles, Chris and you lost this one a long time ago."

Everyone in the church clapped at her speech and she felt her cheeks getting red. She looked at Jess and he was smiling at her. She cracked a small smile back at him. She knew the sass that she had gained (and begun to express) since college was one of the things he loved about her.

"Does this mean you want me to leave?" Chris asked when Rory looked back at him.

Rory lightly bit her lip and looked over her shoulder at her mom. Lorelai just shrugged at her and slightly shook her head. Her mom was telling her this was totally her decision.

"I should at least get to see my little girl get married," Chris said.

"I am not your little girl!" Rory said angrily. He did have a point though. "Fine, there's an empty seat right there in the back. Sit there and do not make a scene! Oh, and don't come to the reception. If you don't follow those rules, I will have you escorted out."

Lorelai couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Luke and Richard escorting Chris out. "And trust me, you don't want that."

Rory turned and looked into Jess' eyes. "I am so sorry," she whispered.

Jess turned to the Reverend. "Please continue."

"Oh, um, yes," Reverend Skinner stumbled, before he got his bearings back. He had never stopped a wedding before because of an objection. Even in Stars Hollow, these things just didn't happen! "Rory and Jess have chosen to recite their own vows, so Jess…"

Jess ran his hand through his hair. He had gotten through the beginning of the wedding, which he had been nervous about, so he could get through this too. "When I was sixteen, you and I met, and my main objective was to get rid of Dean so I could date you. I eventually got rid of Dean, but you and I ended a little less than amiably. I'm not sure how I expected us dating to turn out, considering your mom hated me and Luke was more protective of you than he was of me. Then, when your mom and Luke got married you and I met again, and I had grown up. I was more mature and I was in college and doing well. I managed to get accepted into Yale and you and I started dating again, which has now ended, since we are standing up here, getting ready to be man and wife. I know you think that I am getting myself into a mess, but I know I'm not. You are always telling me that I need to find a girl whose grandmother won't harass me or who has a, what you call, normal family. Yes, there are plenty of girls out there, but there would be one huge problem with each of them. They wouldn't be you. All I've ever wanted was you. I want a crazy family, as long as I can have you. I love you, Rory Gilmore."

Rory's eyes were wide. She couldn't believe this was Jess Mariano. She knew he was good at English, she knew he wrote good speeches, but this…well, she just couldn't believe that was him.

"Rory…" Reverend Skinner prompted.

Rory smiled. "I would just, first, like to say, Jess, I hope you know the amount of mocking you just opened yourself up for. Emma, my mom, and Luke, are going to tease you mercilessly about those vows for a while, but I thought they were very sweet. Anyway, I consider myself very lucky. When I met you, at sixteen, I was such a kid. You were my second boyfriend and I didn't know what to do. I used to make us hide behind plants if we were going to kiss. I was being watched by the whole town and I felt awkward. It definitely got better and I did love you. My mom didn't like you and Luke was always watching us carefully, which was a bit of a problem I'll admit. After you broke my heart Mom really didn't like you and I worked hard to forget you. Luke asked me if it was okay if you were his best man, and I agreed, because I was sure all those feelings I once had for you were gone. Well, I'm standing up here getting ready to be married to you, so obviously, those feelings didn't go anywhere. I am forever thankful for that though, because I honestly don't think I could ask for a better husband. You put up with my mom and Luke, before and now. You also put up with my grandparents, before and now and you love Aaron and Emma as much as I do. You also put up with unexpected people," Rory glanced at her dad, with a small glare. "That randomly show up in my life as if you aren't fazed at all. Every day that we are together I will be thankful for you and thankful that you love me as much as you do. I love you, Jess Mariano."

Rory heard sniffing behind her and she was sure Lorelai was crying. She also felt safe in assuming Lane was crying as well. She looked out into the audience and saw many residents crying. She was also sure that if Luke wasn't so…Luke, he would be crying too. She looked at Jess and rolled her eyes. Jess smiled back at her and muttered, "Crazy town." She narrowed her eyes at him. She hated it when he called her beloved town crazy, which is half the reason he did it.

The rest of the wedding proceeded smoothly with the exchanging of the rings and other traditional things.

"By the power vested in me by God, the State of Connecticut, and the ever powerful Taylor," Reverend Skinner said with a small eye roll (he hated that he had to show that Taylor had approved of him as reverend). "I now pronounce you man and wife." He looked toward Jess. "Well, go ahead, kiss her."

Jess didn't need to be told twice. They kissed until a soft laugh from Emma broke them apart. When they turned to look at the reason they broke apart, they saw Emma's basket on the floor. She had wide, sorrowful eyes and two hands clamped over her mouth. Rory and Jess though, just smiled at her.

"Presenting, Mr. and Mrs. Jess Mariano," Reverend Skinner said, ending the ceremony. Rory and Jess then walked down the aisle and into the room waiting for them. They were to stay in this room until all of the guests made it to the front of the church so they could blow bubbles onto the couple while they ran to the car that was waiting.

In the room, Jess looked at Rory. "Well, Mrs. Mariano, how do you feel?"

Rory's eyes sparkled and she answered truthfully, "Amazing!"

_Well, now Jess and Rory are man and wife! Get excited. Next is the reception. I'll try not to make you wait so long this time and I know, I always say that. Please review if you read and if you did read, thanks so much! _


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I don't own. Still_

_ A/N: Yet another long wait. I'm very sorry, though I know how empty those words sound now that it's happened almost every time! This is a rather long chapter though, so could that make up for it? Yeah, I didn't really think so. Enjoy! _

"I'm so so sorry!" Emma exclaimed. "I didn't mean to do it, I promise. I looked at Aaron, for some crazy reason, and he was making faces, and I tried so hard not to laugh, but one of them was just too much and I did. I honestly didn't mean to ruin the wedding!"

"Emma, you didn't ruin the wedding," Rory told her little sister patiently. They were at the reception and Emma was trying to apologize to Rory and Jess, while on the verge of tears. "I promise, we're not at all mad."

"Not at all mad," Jess repeated, knowing Emma was going to look to him next for an answer, for the same answer. He honestly wasn't mad either. He was having enough trouble keeping his hands off Rory as it was. If he had been allowed to continue the kiss…well, the residents of Stars Hollow just might have gotten a show they never would've forgotten. Lorelai and Luke would've gone back to hating him.

Emma squinted at both of them, trying to read their faces. "You promise?"

Rory and Jess both looked at each other, with identical smiles on their faces. They loved this little girl. "We promise," Jess answered for them. He then saw Lorelai stand up. "Now, go sit down. The speeches are about to start."

Emma raced to her seat while Lorelai clinked her fork on her glass. "Attention, attention." Rory rolled her eyes at her mom's way to get everyone's attention. She was just glad her mom didn't act like "Princess Mia" in _The Princess Diaries_ and clink her knife on the glass and shatter it. Her mom resolved that one day she was going to clink a fork on a glass and after she saw the movie changed her resolution to a knife. So, while Rory wasn't surprised this was the way her mom chose to get everyone's attention, she was surprised, and very thankful, her mom hadn't picked up a knife.

As everyone's eyes swung up to Lorelai, Rory's eyes quickly flew over the guests. She saw that every seat was filled and didn't see anyone standing up in the back. She decided, for right now, that meant Chris hadn't come. She didn't think he would obey her wishes so easily (he was Chris after all), but she hoped that maybe he took her seriously and knew that she would have him escorted out if he came. She only hoped he had, because while she didn't want to have him escorted out, she also did not want him here! She noticed her mom starting her speech, so she decided to think more about Chris' possible appearance here later.

"I met Jess when he was a wild boy at sixteen. My first impression of him was not good. He was standing on my back porch, refusing to have dinner with us, after he had stolen a beer from my fridge and asked me if I was sleeping with his uncle. Would any of you have liked him after that? In fact, if I remember correctly, Rory and Luke were the only two who really trusted him before and after he broke my daughter's arm. He became part of our town though, slowly but surely. I still didn't like him, but Rory begged me to give him a chance. I did, because I knew she really liked him and, unfortunately, also knew they would end up dating. Rory was going through a bad boy phase—"

"Hey!" Rory interrupted. "I hardly think it was a phase. If it was a phase, you and I wouldn't be sitting here!"

"It was a phase then," Lorelai corrected herself. "He's hardly a bad boy now. This, in turn, is what makes me like him. He has grown up and proven himself time and time again. If he were still the boy he was at sixteen, he would've run far, far away when Rory told him he had to come to Friday Night Dinners with us. He came to one as a kid, but it turned out horribly, as he left before it really even started and Emily hated him. She still does, to a point, but then, she wouldn't be Emily if she didn't."

Rory rolled her eyes, and looked to her grandmother to see an offended look on her face. She wanted to rebuke her mom, but knew she was almost finished and didn't really see the point in interrupting her now.

"If he were still the boy he was at sixteen, I know for a fact he wouldn't still be with Rory. He has endured endless harassment from me and from my mother, and we can harass people like nobody's business. He has proven that he really does love Rory, and for that reason, although there are many others, I am proud to call Jess my son in law. Welcome to the family Son Jess."

Jess rolled his eyes at that, knowing she was making a reference to back when he said he would call her Aunt Lorelai if it wasn't for the fact that she would reply with Nephew Jess. "Why thank you, Mother Lorelai," he replied back.

Rory just shook her head at the two of them. She knew they were just kidding with each other, and truthfully, she loved it. It reminded her, on a smaller scale, of her and Lorelai. That's how she always wished for her husband and mother to get along anyway. She needed a husband who understood her mom's warped sense of humor, and Jess did that and more. Her thoughts were again cut off by Luke standing up to begin speaking about her.

"I have known Rory for such a long time, and not too long ago, she became my daughter. I met Rory when she was about eleven, and before then I wasn't a big fan of kids. I actually didn't think I would be a big fan of her, but she seemed different. She sat there with her mom and was quiet. She didn't scream, she didn't talk loudly and when she didn't get coffee, _Lorelai _bugged me and Rory told her to stop! I, of course, had to give her coffee because if I didn't she would just drink her mom's."

"But only one small cup…" Emma interrupted.

"Until you're thirteen," Rory joined in with Emma.

"I still stand by that," Luke told the girls. "I told everyone that I didn't like kids, but Rory was a special kid.

"As she got older, she started joining in on her mom's antics, and starting bugging me, like Lorelai, but by then, I was used to them and I expected it. When Jess came to town, Lorelai and I were talking about him, and she mentioned something about him dating Rory. I thought that would be great, because Rory was a good kid and I thought she would be really good for Jess. I didn't see it the way Lorelai did, that Jess might be bad for Rory. After he broke her arm and after he broke her heart…twice…I knew Lorelai was right."

"I'll never live that down, will I?" Jess whispered to Rory.

Rory shrugged. "Did you really expect to? It's Stars Hollow."

"I was a bit wary of asking Jess to be my best man for the wedding, but Rory actually suggested him and insisted I do so. If I hadn't, Lorelai and Rory would tell me it would've been okay, because fate would have brought Rory and Jess together some other way. I would like to think though, that I had a hand in it. I felt comfortable when Jess and Rory started dating, and I feel comfortable now with them married."

Luke then turned to look at Jess. "She's still my daughter though, and if you hurt her, I will make you sorry."

Everyone laughed and Jess threw a mock salute as his uncle. "Those aren't in the plans, Uncle Luke."

Luke groaned and sat back down.

Kirk, acting as the MC, stood up. "The bride and groom will go get their food, then the wedding party will go, then the MC will go, and then everyone else can follow."

"The MC will get his food after the wedding party?" Jess asked.

Rory looked at him, with a 'duh' look on her face. "It's Kirk."

Jess nodded, because to a Stars Hollow resident, that explained everything.

Later, when they had all finished eating, Kirk announced that the dances between the father and daughter and between bride and groom were about to begin.

Rory had taken Luke's hand and led him to the floor seconds before Kirk had announced the dances.

Being Luke, he had groaned and complained, but he didn't fool Rory. "Oh, stop it. You can say you don't want to dance with me, but I know for a fact you will dance with me at least once more before the night is over. You will also be out here with Mom and Emma, so just stop it!"

"I don't dance," Luke tried.

Rory shook her head. "You're a compulsive liar."

Luke couldn't help but let a small smile appear. He loved this girl. She really was special.

"Okay, so I know you hate country songs, in fact, I know I hate country," Rory told Luke. "But the first time I heard the chorus of this song, I thought of you. So…I picked this one."

"For the father/daughter dance, Rory has picked the song _Angels Among Us_ by Alabama, minus the first verse," Kirk announced.

"It didn't apply," Rory whispered before they started dancing. "Listen to what the song is saying."

_Oh I believe there are angels among us  
Sent down to us from somewhere up above  
They come to you and me in our darkest hours  
To show us how to live  
To teach us how to give  
To guide us with a light of love_

When life dealt troubled times and had me down on my knees  
There's always been someone there to come along and comfort me  
A kind word from a stranger to lend a helping hand  
A phone call from a friend just to say I understand  
Ain't it kind of funny at the dark end of the road  
Someone lights the way with just a single ray of hope

Oh I believe there are angels among us  
Sent down to us from somewhere up above  
They come to you and me in our darkest hours  
To show us how to live  
To teach us how to give  
To guide us with a light of love

They wear so many faces  
Show up in the strangest places  
Grace us with their mercy  
In our time of need

Oh I believe there are angels among us  
Sent down to us from somewhere up above  
They come to you and me in our darkest hours  
To show us how to live  
To teach us how to give  
To guide us with a light of love 

Luke knew he was a goner after he heard the first line. What was it with Rory? She could always succeed in making him cry. Her valedictorian speech, her speech at his wedding, her vows (almost had him there), and now this song. He didn't want to cry at his daughter's wedding, but at the end of the song, there were a few tears on his cheeks.

Rory sighed. "It seems I'm always making you cry."

Luke smiled. "It's okay. Although you are really hurting my grumpy image."

Rory laughed. "After Aaron and Emma, people would have to be ridiculous to think you're actually a grumpy diner man. I'm not so sure you were pulling it off even before."

Luke teasingly narrowed his eyes at Rory. "I think I was doing a pretty good job."

"Whatever you say, Dad," Rory said. "You really were an angel to Mom and me you know. You were always there for us whenever we needed you, no matter what."

Luke closed his eyes. He didn't want the tears to start again.

"Sorry," Rory apologized. "I'm not trying to start you crying again." She reached up to hug Luke. "I love you, Dad."

"I know," Luke told her. "I love you."

Rory's eyes sparkled. He didn't even try to be sarcastic or roll his eyes when he answered her. He must have finally given up. "I know."

Luke felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Jess. "It's my turn to dance with her. Stop hogging my wife."

Luke wrinkled his nose. "Could you do me a favor and not call her your wife in front of me."

Rory laughed and a smile was tugging at the corners of Jess' mouth. "Not a problem, Dad," Jess teased.

"You're really begging for a push in the lake, aren't you?" Luke asked.

"You're always talking about how you hate 'Uncle Luke,'" Jess pointed out.

Luke walked away grumbling. "You're so mean to him," Rory told Jess.

"I'm just kidding," Jess said. "You know that, and so does he."

"He's going to push you in the lake one of these days," Rory said.

"He already has," Jess reminded her. "I survived it once and I'll survive it again. Now, about our song."

Jess turned and nodded to Kirk. Kirk didn't announce anything, he just hit a button and music started. As soon as the song started, Rory gasped. "Don't you hate this song?"

Jess shook his head. "I never once said I hated this song."

"But I thought you didn't like Edwin McCain," Rory reasoned.

"That doesn't mean I hate this song," Jess told her truthfully. "In fact, I think _I'll Be_ is a perfect song for us to dance to."

Rory kissed him. "You know, you can be really amazing sometimes."

Jess shrugged and smiled at the smile that had overtaken Rory's face because of the song he picked. "I try."

"Jess and Rory invite anyone in love to dance with them," Kirk said before the second verse started.

Rory scanned her eyes over the dance floor. She saw her grandma and grandpa get up and walk to the floor. Babbette and Morey were there, along with Paris and Doyle, Lane and Zack, Kirk (who had left his MC spot) and Lulu and Lorelai and Luke. Ms. Patty had snagged some poor guy and pulled him up to dance with him.

Suddenly, Rory laughed and poked Jess. "Look."

Jess looked and couldn't help but laugh too. Emma and Aaron were dancing with each other. "How did she get him to do that?"

"She's a Gilmore girl!" Rory reminded Jess. "We tend to have that effect on people. Someday, you'll remember that. Although I'm not sure Aaron will dance with her again."

"He won't ever dance with anyone again," Jess corrected.

"You may be right," Rory mused. "Of course, he'll meet someone, someday who will make him dance. Mom and I got you and Luke to dance."

"He won't meet a Gilmore Girl," Jess reminded her.

Rory chuckled. "Yes, that's true."

Later, after the cake, champagne and the throwing of the flowers and the garter, the crowd of guests had slowly thinned. Emily (reprimanding Lorelai severely for her speech and reminding Rory that tiara went to her daughter) and Richard had just left when Jess came up to Rory.

"Can we please leave now?" Jess asked.

Rory ran her eyes over the smaller crowd. She didn't see anyone else of huge importance. "Okay."

"Finally!" Jess sighed.

"Let's just go say goodbye to Mom and Dad and then we can go upstairs," Rory said. The plan was that they were going to stay in a room upstairs in the Dragonfly Inn tonight and tomorrow they would leave on their honeymoon.

Rory and Jess walked over to Lorelai and Luke. "Mom, Dad, I think Jess and I are going to turn in now."

Lorelai hugged her daughter. "Okay. Go upstairs and do all kinds of dirty things I don't ever want to think about you doing."

Rory laughed while Jess couldn't help but look uncomfortable. Luke, of course, said, "Aw, jeez. Lorelai!"

"Don't you worry, Mom. We will," Rory assured Lorelai.

"Rory!" Jess said, exactly like Luke had said "Lorelai" two seconds earlier, and walked toward the inn.

"I guess I should follow him," Rory said. She hugged her mom and Luke. "Bye, Aaron, Emma," Rory called to her siblings.

The twins quickly ran over to Rory.

"We'll see you in a week?" Aaron clarified.

"Yep," Rory agreed. "One week."

Emma sighed. "We'll miss you."

"Speak for yourself, sis," Aaron told his sister.

Rory put a hand over her heart. "Oh, Aaron, you hurt me."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it. He'll miss you too. Come on, Aaron, we're going back to dancing."

Aaron rolled his eyes and grumbled a few times, but in the end agreed.

Walking back to the dance floor, Emma chuckled. "I just love being a Gilmore girl."

Rory laughed at her sister. It was a sentiment many of the Gilmore girls experienced once, or more, in their lives. She loved that Emma was experiencing the power of her "Gilmore ness" at such an early age. Rory knew Lorelai loved it even more.

Rory went into the inn and found Jess waiting for her in their room, sitting on their bed. "Is something wrong?"

"Why did you tell your mom that?" Jess asked.

Rory just looked at him. "Well, aren't we going to do all kinds of dirty things that Mom won't ever want to think about me doing?"

Jess walked over to her. "Of course, but she doesn't have to know that."

Rory rolled her eyes and kissed Jess. "Even if I had told her no, she would've known. And she's my mom, I tell her everything."

"At least you could've been a bit more subtle about it," Jess mumbled, running his hands up and down Rory's sides.

Rory pulled back a bit and looked at him disbelievingly. "Are we really going to talk about this right now?"

Jess smiled and pulled her back to him. "Absolutely not." He brought his hand around to her back and pulled the zipper on her dress down. As she began divesting him of his clothes, all thoughts about Lorelai and her knowledge about what they were doing flew from his mind, and Rory was the only thing he could think of.

_This isn't the end. There will be more chapters, I promise, but again, I'm not sure when they will be up. Hopefully sooner than this one, but then again, I know I say that all the time! If you read, please review and thanks for reading at all, after such a long wait! _


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: Nothing's changed._

_ A/N: I have nothing to say, after twelve chapters, and many more to come, what do you expect? :) Enjoy! _

Jess had left one week ago. He was in Boston at Harvard getting his training for the month of July and Rory was home alone. She was bit lonely, but she knew this training was important. Besides, he was only in training for about three more weeks and she had possible plans to go and stay with him in his last week. It really just depended on her work and how she was feeling. She had been feeling a little under the weather lately and while she figured she would get better in three weeks, her work might suffer a bit.

Rory sighed and made herself a cup of coffee. She had taken off work today since she had felt horrible that morning, but she had begun to feel much better. Come to think of it, she had been feeling pretty bad for a while, but it always seemed to get better, so she always stuck it out and went to work. Sometimes the sick feeling hit her at night too, but she always did her best to hide it from Jess. She didn't manage it too well, so he left with a worried look for her and a, "Take care of yourself! Call me if you need anything." Rory, of course, didn't plan to do any such thing. Her mom was in the same town, and that's who she would call if she needed anything. Jess was too busy to be bothered with her if she was sick. The only reason she took off work today was because she decided maybe staying home a day would help her get better.

Rory decided the house needed a good cleaning. She was pretty much caught up on work right now (which is also why she felt comfortable taking the day off, if she hadn't, she would've suffered through as she did the past week), she had no huge articles due and she had to do something to keep her occupied while she was home all day, now that she was feeling much better.

She took her coffee cup into the bedroom and began dusting and vacuuming. She made it into the bathroom and before she cleaned the floor she decided she would dust the cabinets and clean out whatever could be hiding in there. She opened the cabinets under the sink and that's when she knew. She began to count back. Oh god, she was in trouble.

-%

"Mom, are you alone?" Rory asked as soon as Lorelai picked up the phone.

"Well, hello to you too, daughter," Lorelai joked.

"Mom, are you alone?" Rory repeated. Lorelai quickly saw that her daughter was not in a joking mood.

"Yes," Lorelai told her. "I'm in my office. What's wrong? Why aren't you at work?"

"I took off from work because I have nothing huge due and I wasn't feeling well," Rory explained. "I started feeling a lot better though, and I figured if I was going to be home all day, I might as well do something productive."

"That's dangerous," Lorelai joked with her daughter.

"You're telling me," Rory said. "I decided to clean. I cleaned the bedroom and I was in the process of cleaning the bathroom and I thought I would clean out the insides of the cabinets. I opened the ones under the sink, and that's when I saw them."

"What?" Lorelai questioned. "Bugs!"

Rory had to roll her eyes. "No, Mom. Tampons. I'm late."

Lorelai had to stop a smile from spreading across her face. "How late?"

"Oh, you know," Rory stalled. "About two months."

"Rory!" Lorelai cried. "Two months!"

"Hush!" Rory implored. "I don't want anyone to hear you. Before the wedding we were too busy planning for me to even think about it, and then during the wedding and the honeymoon that was the last thing on my mind. I've been so busy lately with trying to get Jess off to his training that I didn't think about it. I don't even think I would have noticed if I hadn't been cleaning today."

"I think you would have noticed once you started gaining weight," Lorelai said.

"Wait, aren't we jumping to conclusions here?" Rory said.

"Um, Rory…you're two months late, I hardly think—" Lorelai began.

"Mom!" Rory cut her off. "Let's not do any jumping. It could just be…stress or something. Can you come over?"

"Of course," Lorelai agreed. "Do you have…"

"I was hoping you would buy them," Rory admitted sheepishly.

"Rory," Lorelai groaned. "Everyone's going to think I'm having another baby. I don't want that spread around. Then if I tell them it's not me I don't think _you_ want that spread around. If I refuse to answer altogether, then they will really think it's me and I'm not about to let Luke and the kids hear about something that's not true from one of the townies."

"I don't want rumors spread about me though," Rory reminded her mom. "Just go to Hartford or Litchfield. Nobody will recognize _you _ in Hartford and you will be good in Litchfield too. Pleeeeeease, Mom!" Rory wasn't prone to begging, but she just wanted to sit in her house and panic. If she was pregnant…this wasn't supposed to happen. She was not supposed to have a baby. That was the one thing she wanted to avoid!

Lorelai gave a sigh. "Okay. Let me make up some lie to Sookie and Michel. I'll ask Luke to pick up the kids and give me an hour."

"Ask Luke to pick up the kids?" Rory asked. It was only noon.

"I have a feeling that when these tests show what we both know they will, I am going to be with you for a very long time," Lorelai pointed out. She knew how her daughter felt about having kids and knew Rory didn't want to deal with that. It looked like she had no choice.

Rory thanked her mother and hung up the phone. As soon as her phone was closed and resting safely on the coffee table, Rory let out a loud and long groan of frustration and slumped into the couch. This was _not_ in the plans!

_Oh no! Is Rory pregnant? I kind of tipped my hand in the chapter, but if she isn't…any ideas on why she would be late? So, you want to review? Please? And thanks for reading! _


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: I still don't own_

_A/N: On this chapter, I combined two. If I hadn't, you would've gotten a short one and I didn't want to do that to you all. I hope you enjoy this one too! _

Lorelai knocked on her daughter's door and waited for Rory to come to the door. When Rory did so, Lorelai jangled the bag. Rory snatched the bag from her mom.

"Three?" Rory asked. "Don't you think that's a little excessive?"

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Don't you want to know if you're pregnant or not."

Rory closed her eyes. "Not really."

Lorelai walked into the bathroom and set the three pregnancy tests, a generic brand, Clear Blue and First Response, on the bathroom counter. She then went and took Rory's arm and pulled her into the bathroom. "Now, if you aren't out of here in five minutes I'm coming in after you and making you pee on those sticks!"

Rory rolled her eyes, but knew she had to do it. She waited until her mom closed the door and then went to do what her mom told her.

-%

Rory bit her lip. The alarm just went off a minute ago and she was still sitting on the couch.

Lorelai nudged her daughter. "Well, go on. See what they say."

Rory shook her head. "I can't, Mom. I just can't."

"Rory, I swear," Lorelai said, with an eye roll. "Why can't you?"

"Because I know what they're going to say," Rory told her mom. "This was not supposed to happen! This was not in the plans!"

"Fine," Lorelai grumbled. "I'll go see."

"Well, my dear," Lorelai said as she walked out of the bathroom. "Looks like you're going to have to make new plans."

"What!" Rory said. "No!"

"Three positives, Kid," Lorelai broke the news to her daughter. "Two pink lines, a plus sign and a nice little 'pregnant.'"

"Mom," Rory groaned. "I wasn't ever going to have kids."

"This is what happens when you stop taking your birth control," Lorelai told her daughter. "When do you think it happened? Without giving me too much information. If you are two months along, there is no way this was a honeymoon baby."

Rory sighed. "Well, you remember the night everything went to hell in a hand basket with Grandma? Well, Jess was telling me how much he and everyone else loved me and I asked him to show me, to make me forget. Well, he did…but I guess we forgot something else too."

Lorelai chucked. "How ironic! On the night Mom accuses you of being pregnant, Jess goes and gets you pregnant."

Rory gasped. "Jess! How am I going to tell him! We didn't plan this, we weren't prepared, we aren't prepared!"

"Calm down, Sweets," Lorelai told Rory. "First we need to get you a doctor's appointment and check that you're really pregnant and everything's okay."

Rory's eyes got wide and excited. "You mean, the tests could be wrong?!"

"Three false positives in three different brands is very, very unlikely," Lorelai pointed out. "But, if that's what you want to think, fine. Let me call my OB GYN and we'll figure out if he has an opening."

Rory, still sitting on the couch, squeezed her eyes shut and leaned her head back against the couch. She hated labor, she hated the idea of labor. Before Lorelai had the twins, Rory couldn't even go into the room with her mom because of the contractions Lorelai was sure to be experiencing every few minutes. Not to mention that she couldn't even look at Sookie before she went into labor. Having this child should be rather interesting.

-%

"I. Am. Pregnant." Rory repeated to herself. "I, Rory Gilmore Mariano, am pregnant."

"You convinced yourself yet?" Lorelai asked her daughter. They were in the Jeep, driving to _Luke's_. They had just left the OB GYN's office, who confirmed that very fact.

"I don't think so," Rory said. "How am I going to tell Jess?"

"Well, you definitely need to go see him," Lorelai decided. "This isn't something that can be accomplished over the phone."

"Are you kidding?" Rory questioned. "I'm almost three months along, perfectly fine, but you know Dad is not going to let me drive down to Boston and back all by myself. Jess will freak if he knows I did that also."

"Well, I could drive you down there and then come back to get you in a week," Lorelai suggested.

"How about we just wait until the last week, I was actually thinking about visiting him during that time anyway. Then he could just bring me back," Rory mentioned.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Lorelai told her child. "I think you need to tell him as soon as possible."

"Maybe you're right," Rory mused.

"You need to tell him," Lorelai repeated. "As soon as possible. Luke got mad that I waited so long to tell him about Aaron and Emma. In fact, if I hadn't told him when I did the kids would've told him themselves. You and I are both so skinny and I was having twins, they weren't going to stay hidden for much longer."

Rory suddenly looked down at her stomach in fright. "You don't think I'm going to have twins, do you?"

Lorelai laughed. "There's no telling, Kid."

They walked into the diner and Lorelai shouted, "Luuuuuuuuuucas!"

Emma came bursting out of the kitchen. "Mommy, what's wrong?"

"What?" Lorelai inquired.

"Daddy picked us up from school and Daddy never picks us up from school!" Emma reminded her mom. "What's wrong with Rory?"

Lorelai looked over at her daughter and noticed the look on her face went from sheer fright to complete terror. "Rory, what's wrong?"

"I have to tell Dad," Rory whispered. "How do I tell Dad?"

"How do you tell Daddy what?" Emma innocently questioned.

"Oh, Emma," Rory sighed.

"Emma, why don't you get Aaron and you guys can come sit with us," Lorelai suggested, trying to buy her daughter some time. "Then we can order or something."

"Okay," Emma agreed, skipping off.

"Maybe I should just wait," Rory tried. "I mean, shouldn't I tell the father first?"

"In normal situations I would agree," Lorelai said. "But this is hardly normal. You know Emma won't forget. In fact, I have a feeling she's going to wait until Luke is at the table and then mention it again."

Emma and Aaron joined Lorelai and Rory quickly and a few seconds later Luke walked over to the table. He was studying Lorelai intently, because she didn't tell him much on the phone. She just told him he needed to pick up the kids if they were going to get home that day and that was it.

"So, Rory," Emma began. "What's up?"

Rory squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh, Emma," she sighed.

Luke was very confused. "What's going on?"

"You've got to tell him, Kid," Lorelai told Rory.

"Someone better tell me!" Luke exclaimed.

Rory sighed again. She wanted to think of some clever way to tell him, but she couldn't. She knew saying it would make it real, but she knew that Lorelai would flat out refuse to tell him and she didn't need Luke throwing a fit. She could tell he was worried and if someone didn't tell him soon, he would yell and scream.

"Dad…" Rory began and all eyes snapped to her. She quickly connected her blue eyes with her mom's and Lorelai slightly nodded. Rory took a breath. "I'm going to have a baby."

Emma screamed. "No way!"

Lorelai just smiled while Luke and Aaron looked on with mouth's slightly open in shock. When they didn't say anything for a few seconds, Rory began to get nervous. "Dad, how do you feel about this?"

Luke finally got his face from shock to smiling. He was excited, he really was, he just was caught by surprise. "Rory, it's great. Honestly, it is." He came around the table to hug her. "Does Jess know? And I thought you were never going to have kids?"

"I wasn't," Rory confirmed. "It looks like life had other plans. And no, I haven't told Jess yet. I'm going to go down and see him soon and I'll tell him."

"You aren't planning to drive by yourself, are you?" Luke asked. "Because that's not a good idea."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "No, she's not. I told her I would take her to Boston and then go get her and bring her back."

"Boston?" Emma asked. "Where in Boston?"

Rory knew the tidal wave this would cause. "Harvard."

Emma started bouncing in her seat. "Oh, Mommy can I please go with you?! I want to see Harvard so badly! Besides, how am I going to know if I want to go there or not if I don't go? I'll just die if I never see it before high school and if you're going right there…can't I please go with you?"

"Don't leave me out!" Aaron exclaimed. "I want to go too!"

Lorelai looked at her husband. "We will discuss it and I will let you know. Now, both of you calm down."

"Can we get food?" Rory asked.

"Of course," Luke agreed. "Don't you always. No coffee for you though!"

Rory's eyes widened and Lorelai watched her daughter carefully. She could tell the hormones were about to kick in. With her, she got angry and yelled and screamed until she got the coffee. She wasn't sure how it would be with Rory, but when she saw the beginning of tears, she knew Luke would be bringing her daughter coffee.

"But Dad!" Rory cried, small tears building up in her eyes.

"Hormonal Rory," Lorelai warned Luke. "I got angry when I didn't get my coffee, but I think Rory's going to cry."

"Look at me, Emma and Aaron," Rory pointed out, trying to hold her tears in. There was no need to cry if she could convince Luke without the tears. After all, she was going to have to learn to control her hormones quickly. "We're all fine. Aaron even hates coffee."

"But you and Emma are coffee addicts," Luke said. "If I have anything to do with it, my grandchild is not going to be addicted to caffeine as well!"

"I'll only drink one cup, I promise!" Rory said. "Besides, if you don't give it to me, I'll just go home and drink more coffee, because I'll have to make up for what I didn't drink here."

"I don't think you should drink any at all," Luke said. "I don't want to feed your addiction."

Luke didn't sound like he was going to give in, and Rory couldn't hold her tears in any longer. "Oh, please Dad!" She exclaimed, tears starting to run down her cheeks. "Come on, Mom! Tell him I'll be fine."

"Luke," Lorelai pleaded. "She really will be. And I have a feeling you won't be able to deny hormonal Rory for long, so just keep her from getting upset. It can't be good for her or the baby."

"Daddy!" Emma cried.

It was Aaron though, that finally made Luke cave. "Dad, just…give her some coffee."

Everyone was surprised, but it was Emma who finally voiced their surprise. "Aaron!"

"Well, it's a special occasion," Aaron pointed out. "Gilmore women drink coffee all the time, but especially when they celebrate. If the good news is yours, you should be able to celebrate, with coffee. Besides, if the baby is a girl, it would kind of be a shame if she didn't like coffee."

"Oh, Aaron," Rory sighed. "I love you!"

"Aaron's right, Luke," Lorelai continued to wheedle. She honestly knew her daughter would be fine. She didn't think it was healthy, but she couldn't deny her daughter, especially when she drank coffee herself.

Luke sighed. "When the whole table's against me, especially you, you little traitor," Luke grumbled, sparing a look for Aaron. "What can a guy do? Jess is going to kill me." He walked away to get the coffee.

Rory sighed, wiping her eyes. "I hate being hormonal. He's right. Jess will kill him…after me!"

"Jess is not going to kill you," Lorelai told her daughter. "Not for getting pregnant or for drinking coffee. He won't like it, the coffee I mean, but you'll just have to convince him that you'll be fine. Crying a little for him might help too."

"I didn't cry on purpose!" Rory insisted. "I wasn't going to get coffee, and I really need it after such depressing news. He'd better not give me decaf."

"Rory, its happy news!" Emma told her sister. "And Daddy won't give you decaf. Hi, the nose! Besides, he knows better."

Rory sighed as Aaron went to sit up at the counter to talk to Luke for a few minutes. "Mom!" Rory suddenly exclaimed. "Grandma and Grandpa! How am I going to tell them? Grandma can do math and she'll know…"

Lorelai groaned. "One problem at a time, please! But it won't be a problem. They're in Martha's Vineyard anyway. It's summer. Just tell them when they get back."

"Um, hello, I'll be almost five months pregnant in September," Rory reminded her mom. "I think they'll figure it out for themselves. I have to call them. It would be rude to not even give them a call. Grandma would never forgive me."

"Well, wait a few weeks and then call them," Lorelai suggested. "You'll be three months pregnant then, but you can tell them that when you went to the OB GYN he said you were about two months along."

"They'll think I just went," Rory said.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Sweets, that's the point!"

"What if they ask when I went?" Rory questioned.

Lorelai sighed. "Stop looking for trouble. But I don't think they will. They'll definitely want to know what he said, but I don't think they'll get that deep into it."

"And when the baby comes a month earlier than they're expecting?" Rory again questioned.

"It's premature," Lorelai said nonchalantly.

"Even though it looks fully grown…" Rory trailed off, waiting for her mom to fill in the blank.

"That's why it came when it did!" Lorelai supplied.

"Grandma and Grandpa are never going to believe this," Rory moaned.

Lorelai shook her head. "Oh, ye of little faith. You forget all the experience I have with lying to the grandparents."

"And _you_ forget that every time you did, they figured out the truth!" Rory countered.

"Oh, I'm hurt!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Don't borrow trouble!"

"Wait!" Emma broke in. "Lying is wrong!"

Rory looked to her mom with a small smile. Rory was waiting for Lorelai to come up with a brilliant idea to explain this to Emma.

_So, how is she going to tell Jess and how will he feel about it? And what about the grandparents? Will they believe Lorelai's lie? And what is Lorelai going to say to Emma about lying? So many great questions. Please review and thanks for reading! _


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: I don't own. Except Aaron and Emma. And this baby that Rory's having. _

_ A/N: Well, now you'll get the answers to your questions. That is, if you remember what they are! Also, I gave you a super long chapter. I was going to break them up, but then you would've been left with short chapters and I couldn't bring myself to do it. Anyway, enjoy!_

Aaron was sitting at the counter when Luke came out of the kitchen to take a few more orders and pour the coffee. He had put the girls' food on and he was going to be productive while it was cooking.

"Dad?" Aaron asked. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Luke agreed.

"This baby Rory's having," Aaron began. "Well, it's a good thing, right? We're excited, right?"

Luke wrinkled his forehead, confused. "Of course it's a good thing. And yes, we're excited. Why?"

"Well, Rory doesn't seem too excited about it, but Mommy and Emma are," Aaron explained. "Everything they get excited about, movies, music, junk food and coffee, you and I aren't excited about. So I was just making sure it was okay for me to be excited about this because I wanted to be."

Luke came around the counter and sat down beside his son. "Aaron, just because I'm not excited about something the girls like does _not_ mean you can't be. If you want to get excited about movies, music, junk food and coffee, then that's fine. If you don't really like baseball or fishing, you don't have to."

Aaron nodded his head. "I do love baseball and fishing though. Movies are a waste of time and music is loud. Besides, I do eat junk food sometimes, just not as much as they do."

Luke raised his eyebrows. He wasn't totally certain his son was being truthful. "You sure?"

"Positive," Aaron assured his father. Aaron then bit his lip. "There is one thing though…do you think I could try some coffee?"

Luke tried hard to keep the disgusted look off his face and nodded. He wanted his son to be and do whatever he wanted (within reason). He definitely wasn't excited about this. If his son wanted to try coffee, he was going to let him though, and just hope to God he hated it.

-%

"So you see Emma," Lorelai was saying as Luke and Aaron were walking to the table. "It's not really lying. It's just bending the truth. It is up to grown-ups, though, to know when bending the truth is acceptable and when it isn't. Therefore, you and Aaron are never to lie and never to bend the truth."

Emma still looked suspicious, but agreed.

Rory looked to Luke and saw him with two small cups on the tray. "Oh, Dad, no! Please don't make me drink from a 'before thirteen' cup!"

Luke had considered this, but decided it was better to avoid another crying spell. "It's not for you. It's for Emma and Aaron."

"Aaron?" Lorelai, Rory and Emma shrieked together.

Aaron shrugged. "I decided to see why it made you cry, Rory."

"Oh, my little boy trying coffee," Lorelai sighed, with her hand over her heart.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Crazy lady."

"He won't like it, Mommy," Emma told Lorelai. "I can guarantee it."

Rory chuckled as Aaron said, "We'll see, sis."

Luke poured the coffee and Aaron rolled his eyes as everyone else's eyes turned to him. He knew they were going to watch him drink his first sip, so their eyes didn't really bother him. As soon as he took a sip, he almost choked. "How can you guys drink this stuff?"

Luke and Emma smiled. Luke was thankful and Emma knew it from the beginning, he was her twin after all.

Rory shook her head at her little brother and Lorelai gasped. "Oh, a son of mine, insulting coffee!"

Emma and Rory both chuckled at Lorelai while Luke rolled his eyes, walked away to get their food, get Aaron a better drink, and muttered, "Crazy women."

-%

"Mom, I really can't do this!" Rory exclaimed on their way to Boston.

Lorelai rolled her eyes at her daughter. For the past couple of hours that's all she'd been saying. "Yes. You. Can. Even if you can't, you're going to have to."

"You can do it, Rory," Emma's voice piped up from the back.

"Great, I've got seven-year- olds listening in on my conversation," Rory muttered.

Emma wrinkled her forehead. "Hey!" Aaron exclaimed.

Lorelai looked at Rory warningly, but understood what she was going through. "Give her a break, twins. She's stressed. And Rory, stop. Emma was just trying to help."

"Sorry guys," Rory apologized.

"Want to hear something funny?" Emma asked.

"Oh, why not?" Rory agreed.

"Aaron and I were talking to Steve and Kwan and we told them about the baby," Emma told them. "Daniel, a boy in our class last year, came up and told us that we were stupid because storks brought babies. I told him that he was wrong and babies came from mommy's tummies. Then _I _called _him_ stupid."

"And dumb," Aaron added.

"Emma Gilmore Danes!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Aaron William Danes!" Rory cried simultaneously.

"What?" Emma and Aaron asked innocently.

"You are not to call people stupid!" Lorelai told them.

"Or dumb," Rory agreed.

"But Mommy, he is!" Emma defended herself.

"Yep," Aaron agreed.

"Just because he said babies come from storks does not mean he's dumb," Lorelai told her children. "Some parents tell their kids that."

"Why?" Emma asked.

Rory laughed. "Because they don't have any little brothers or sisters."

"But that's not the only reason we say he's stupid," Aaron told them. "I sat beside him last year in school and he got a B on his English homework!"

Rory closed her eyes, bit her lip and tried hard not to laugh. The twins were so smart and so young; they didn't really understand that other kids weren't Ivy League bound like they were. Rory planned to listen intently to what her mother was going to say, because (not caring about being modest in her own head) she was sure she was going to have to explain this to a child of her own one day. Then again…she could always refer her kid over to Lorelai or the twins.

Lorelai sighed when she saw the amused look on Rory's face. Looks like she was on her own on this one. "Emma, Aaron, you two are very smart. I understand that you've never gotten a B on anything, and that's one of the reasons I know you two are going to end up in an Ivy League school someday. Having said that, there are other children who aren't going to end up in such a school."

"Especially in Stars Hollow Elementary," Rory cut in. "When you go to a prep school that will be a completely different story. I felt horribly inept my first few days at Chilton."

"Those other kids, who aren't going to go to an Ivy League school, are _not_ stupid," Lorelai continued. "Maybe English isn't Daniel's best subject. He might be marvelous at history though. Every child is good at something, regardless of who they are and regardless of what school they go to. There are just some kids, who are good at everything. If you are one of those kids who are good at everything, it is very important to _not_ flaunt it."

Rory laughed. "Remember Paris? She was one of those kids who flaunted how good she was at everything."

The twins gasped. They liked Paris and everything, but they were never sure how Rory managed to be such good friends (if that's what you could call it) with her.

Emma spoke for both of them. "We don't want to end up like her."

"I guess Daniel isn't that dumb," Aaron decided.

"Or stupid," Emma added. She looked at Aaron. "We should probably apologize to him when we get back home."

Rory sighed. "Well, that'll be a bit harder when I have to explain that to my kid. My kid won't know Paris!"

"You'll just have to introduce him," Lorelai told her daughter.

"Him?" Rory questioned.

"Him, her," Lorelai mused. "Whatever."

"You've really got to get them into Hartford Prep," Rory whispered, not wanting the twins to hear.

"We're working on it," Lorelai assured her daughter.

"Boston!" Emma squealed from the backseat, seeing the sign. "We're here!"

Rory gasped in a breath and Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You did tell Jess we were coming?"

"Of course, Mom," Rory told her mother. "He told me to call when we got closer and he'd be waiting."

"Looks like you'd better call," Lorelai said.

Rory swallowed and hit number 4 on her phone that being the speed dial for her husband's cell phone.

-%

"Wow," Emma breathed getting out of the car. "It's beautiful."

Aaron glanced around. "It's not too shabby."

"I'd have to agree with you there, midgets," Jess said, coming up behind them.

"Hey, Jess," Aaron greeted him.

Rory walked over and kissed her husband's cheek, but didn't say anything. She was sure if she did, one of the many butterflies that seemed to be overtaking her stomach would fly out of her mouth. There were so many, she was sure they all couldn't be contained to her stomach.

Jess didn't think Rory's lack of greeting was _too_ unusual, they were going to be alone in just a few minutes anyway; he hardly thought Emma would want to wait much longer to have a look around Harvard's campus.

"Lorelai," Jess greeted her. "Luke didn't come?"

"He had to run the diner," Lorelai told her son-in-law. "Anyway, we're only staying two days."

Jess nodded. "Makes sense."

Emma was bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Mommy, can't we please look around! Now! Please!"

"I don't even get a greeting from you?" Jess asked Emma, pretending to be affronted.

"Hi," Emma greeted him distractedly, not even looking at him, still taking in the sights of Harvard.

Lorelai, Jess and even Rory chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm about Harvard, and lack of it for anything else.

"I didn't arrange for a guide or anything," Jess told Lorelai. "Rory told me the midgets were coming and I did think about it, but then I thought the guides might hang up on me when I told them they would be escorting around two seven year olds."

Lorelai nodded. "That's probably for the best. I took Rory around here once, I'm sure I can remember the basics. I'll even take some pictures again!"

Rory rolled her eyes. "You know, the Harvard squirrel, sitting on the Harvard rock."

"Don't forget the one of my finger!" Lorelai laughed along with her daughter. She wanted to distract her for a few more minutes at least. She knew how nervous her daughter was and wanted to provide a bit of comic relief for her before she had to tell Jess the news. "When we show these pictures to Mom we want to make sure she feels as though she's right inside my finger."

"Slides, Mom, slides," Rory corrected good-naturedly. "We don't need her just flipping through pictures. We have to _explain_ them!"

"Mommy!" Emma exclaimed tired of waiting. "Please!"

Lorelai shook her head in amusement and took one of the twin's hands in each of hers. "I'll see you two later."

"Bye," Rory and Jess replied. Jess grabbed Rory's hand. "I've missed you."

Rory tried hard for a smile. She wasn't sure it was her best, but there was something. "I've missed you, too."

"What's wrong?" Jess asked Rory.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Rory asked Jess.

Jess studied his wife. He could tell something was off, but he wasn't sure what it was. They were coming up on a coffee kiosk, and he slowed. "Maybe you'll tell me after I buy you some coffee?"

"I don't want any," Rory answered automatically. She'd had her Luke cup before they left that morning and she had a thermos filled with her home coffee, which she finished about halfway through the drive. She was so used to only having two cups that she automatically answered him with a no.

Jess' mouth dropped open almost of its own accord. "Now I know something's wrong. What's up?"

"Can we go to your room and we'll talk?" Rory asked. She didn't really want to have this conversation in the middle of a sidewalk at Harvard.

Jess nodded, took her hand and began to walk rather quickly. Rory sighed. She wished he would slow up a bit. She supposed he wanted to know what was wrong just as much as she wished she didn't have to tell him.

-%

Rory was biting her lip furiously by the time they reached Jess' dorm room. Rory did manage a smile though. "This is the same dorm my mom took a picture of when we came down here. She said it was going to be mine."

Jess smiled. "That definitely sounds like your Mom. I have a feeling she would've made it yours if you had gone here."

"It's possible, at that," Rory said.

"Enough small talk," Jess decided. "Tell me what's wrong."

Rory swallowed. "Jess, how do you feel about kids?"

Jess raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I'm not sure I understand what you're asking. I love the midgets, Aaron and Emma are great. Of course, not all kids are like them though. The kids that come into the diner…and the jam hands!"

Rory shook her head, trying hard to not let tears fill her eyes, even though the thought did make her think of a happier time. "You sound just like Dad. He always had a thing for jam hands. He was afraid _you_ were going to have jam hands. I heard him yelling to Mom about it."

Jess looked at Rory closely. "Are you sure you're okay? You're really starting to worry me. Please tell me what's wrong. I promise I'll do my best to try and fix it."

Rory shook her head, letting a few tears finally break free. "You can't fix it. This is something neither of us can fix."

"What is it, Rory!" Jess cried.

Rory wiped the tears that had escaped off her cheeks and looked down at the ground. "We're having a baby."

_Oooooh, cliffhanger! How is Jess going to feel about this? Any favorite parts? Any bets on how long it's going to take me to update this time? Haha. Review and thanks for reading! _


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